Nova University Lisbon (Portugal) Partners meet for technical visit to Innovation District territories
On 9 November, the Association for the Promotion of the Almada Innovation District (Almada.ID) and the Municipality of Almada made a joint technical visit to the intervention territory of that operation, as part of the process of revision of the Almada Municipality Master Plan (PDM) and monitoring of the projects to be developed in that region.
Participating in the visit were the founders of the Association, currently presided over by NOVA University Lisbon, represented by the Rector, João Sàágua, the Municipality of Almada, with the Mayor, Inês de Medeiros, competent authorities (CCDR-LVT, APL and others) and members of the Association created for this purpose, owners and investors.
The initiative, informal and collaborative in nature, constituted an extraordinary opportunity for the joint mobilization of the diverse actors with an impact on this part of the municipality of Almada, in benefit of the alignment of solutions between the development projects proposed by the main owners and institutions, the strategic urban planning guidelines, and the needs of the territory and the populations.
In the opinion of the Mayor of Almada, Inês de Medeiros, “The Almada Innovation District is one of the most structuring projects to occur in the municipality and will allow, with the planning and concerted work we are doing with the various entities, both in the scope of the PDM and with initiatives such as the one we carried out today, an improvement in mobility and territorial competitiveness, including the increase of the housing stock, economic development and urban and environmental requalification”.
For the Rector, João Sàágua, who chairs the Almada Innovation District Association ” NOVA University Lisbon is committed to contribute to build the City of Almada Innovation District, from its Campus, opening its doors to the city, to the populations and to the scientific and economic activity; enabling its creation through knowledge, attraction of talent, as well as investment and economic and business activity”.
Recognising the university as one of the anchors of this community, the Rector reiterated the Association’s useful and fundamental collaboration with the municipality and the other partners.
The revision of Almada’s PDM is currently in a phase of consultation after the 3rd Meeting of the Consultative Commission (CC). This is an opportunity to provide the municipality with a new instrument more adapted to the reality and the various current challenges, particularly highlighting the themes of adaptation, mitigation and increase of territorial resilience, which is assumed as an inductive element of growth and sustained enhancement of the territory, where inevitably equitable territorial competitiveness is the key to the success and vitality of cities and regions.