Resumo

VAREA ORO, Aitor  e  MONTEIRO VIEIRA, Paulo Alexandre. Public power as a catalyst for social change. Process and assessment of the on-going “ilhas” rehabilitation process. CIDADES [online]. 2022, vol.45, pp.95-111.  Epub 29-Dez-2022. ISSN 2182-3030.  https://doi.org/10.15847/cct.26601.

Although there is a vast literature on populations in a situation of housing and financial need, namely those who live in the so-called "ilhas" of Porto, the approaches adopted tend to assume a descriptive nature - material deprivation - or ideological - the contradictions of the paradigm neoliberal. Without necessarily contradicting them, this article enables a different reading grid, more oriented towards concrete intervention and practice, adapted to the needs of populations and aimed at creating a more just and cohesive society. In methodological terms, the work developed is based on two pillars: on the concept of urban vulnerability, which, as it affects the difficulties that groups with lower resources have in accessing existing tools, allows focusing on the operational dimension; and in the presentation and evaluation of the process of definition and implementation of a municipal policy oriented towards the rehabilitation of the “ilhas” of Porto, in which the authors are involved. Two main conclusions are pointed out: on the one hand, that the government has the capacity to play an important role in correcting existing social and spatial imbalances, using urban rehabilitation as an important tool to promote social development; on the other hand, that this paradigm shift does not require the creation of new tools, but rather the adaptation of the existing ones to the characteristics, needs and real capacities of the promoters and beneficiaries of them.

Palavras-chave : Porto; urban vulnerability; public policies; decent housing.

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