“After the Santo António valley and the Chelas valley, we will intervene in another degraded and abandoned area of the city: Today we approved the delimitation of the Marvila-Beato Execution Unit, spanning 28 hectares, to undergo public discussion,” announced Urbanism Councilor Joana Almeida in a statement.
According to the independent councilor, elected by the “New Times” coalition (PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança), after “three years of intense work,” the municipality is taking “the first step towards the creation of a new city centrality, with four neighborhoods possessing distinct identities,” including Madre Deus and Beato.
“From more residential neighborhoods to those of mixed use, this new centrality will feature a total of 1,360 housings, 63,000 m² of commerce, services, and facilities, as well as 14 hectares of green areas. In the central zone, there will be a large 10-hectare green park, equipped and connected to the surroundings,” described Joana Almeida.
The councilor explained that, “in this new city centrality, soft mobility is prioritized” while “an abandoned and closed-off area has been opened to the entire surrounding region,” resolving “the major challenge of integrating the third crossing over the Tejo in this new city area.”
The proposal outlines that the delimitation of the Marvila-Beato Execution Unit (UEMB) stems from an “expression of interest” by “the owner of a significant size of expectant plots” in the parishes of Marvila and Beato, with an overall intervention area of 278,896 m².
“The need to delineate an execution unit arises from the fact that the area to be reconverted is currently segregated from neighboring urban sectors by the division effects created by the Linha do Norte and Linha de Cintura,” the document states.
This scenario will include “access to the future third crossing of the Tejo, aiming to develop a new urban polarity and a pivot area that connects the various surrounding urban fabrics.”
The UEMB aims to “optimize the structuring effects of the third Tejo crossing,” adopt “impact mitigation measures associated with transport corridors,” specifically highlighting the future Chelas-Barreiro connection, “eliminate urban social asymmetries by reinforcing territorial cohesion,” boost “job attraction,” and “intensify urban planning.”
Specific objectives of the UEMB, directly following the Municipal Master Plan (PDM), include “offering housing within the context of municipal housing policy,” creating “a green park associated with a network of pedestrian routes,” and “enhancing the smooth mobility network by favoring the use of more sustainable transport modes.”
The execution unit also plans for “the coverage of the Northern Railway Line, between Calçada do Duque de Lafões and Torre do Marialva,” to “eliminate one of the physical barriers connecting the upper part of Chelas to the riverside area,” the relocation of the Clube Ferroviário de Portugal’s football field, and “a framing square highlighting” the Australian rubber tree, ensuring its protection area.
The terms of reference for the UEMB ensure “the fair distribution of benefits and charges among landowners, defining private areas and areas destined for public spaces,” with the public discussion period not exceeding 20 working days.
The proposal was approved with votes in favor from the “New Times” coalition and the PS, against by the PCP and Bloco de Esquerda, and with abstentions from Livre and Cidadãos Por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition), according to official municipal sources.
The PCP council stated in a declaration that they rejected the proposal, considering “inadequate the use of an execution unit for territorial planning issues, whose vocation, according to the general bases law of public land policy, land use, and urbanism, is attributed to territorial management instruments of municipal competence.”
“Even more inadequate is the current situation, on a territorial stretch of about 28 hectares, subject to environmental assessment, involving the construction of approximately 200,000 m² of surface pavement and where the forecast of large supra-municipal rail infrastructures, such as the third crossing of the Tejo, converge,” they noted.
For the communists, “it is unacceptable to use an execution unit initiated by private interests when an urbanization plan, initiated by the municipality and guided by the public interest for better definition, articulation, and programming of major infrastructures, is justified, free from private real estate interests constraints.”
