As part of the review of the Municipal Master Plan (PDM), the Vila Nova de Gaia City Council held its fifth participatory session yesterday, October 22nd, themed "Housing: Planning and Execution". The meeting brought together experts, institutional representatives, and citizens to discuss housing access and the municipality's sustainable growth.
At the opening, the President of the Vila Nova de Gaia City Council, Luís Filipe Menezes, emphasized the importance of linking housing policies with land-use planning. "The work carried out has made it possible to provide people with nearly 600 homes within a period of 14 to 15 months," he stated, highlighting the municipal effort to increase housing supply.
Menezes revealed the strategy's ambition for the coming years: "We already have a land bank that will allow us to build around 4,000 homes. We could reach the end of this term with nearly 5,000 units built, intended for both social housing and affordable housing for families and young people."
The need to integrate housing policy with other areas of urban development, such as mobility, transport, green spaces, and public facilities, was also advocated. The president challenged municipal teams to create a new strategic instrument for the PDM review, which would encompass all housing and help to "design the city of the future".
The session included participation from Prof.ª Doutora Teresa Sá Marques, Arq.º Nuno Travasso, Dr. Daniel Miranda, and Arq.º Benjamim Pereira, from the Institute of Housing and Urban Rehabilitation (IHRU), moderated by Eng.º António José Lacerda. The series of sessions aims to foster debate and community participation in shaping Vila Nova de Gaia's territorial model.
