Metropolitan Administration after Corona: The Case of Porto

The article presents the main results of a follow-up research on the administration and service provision system in the Porto Metropolitan Area. The research group conducted an empirical study in Porto just before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of the polycrisis, which started in 2020, is analysed in this paper. The regulatory and organisational framework has not been significantly transformed as the result of the multiple crises and shocks, but the practice, and especially the planning activities in the field of the services of general economic interest, have become more concentrated. The cooperation in the field of the services of general interests (human services) has remained relatively limited. Thus, the polycrisis is not just a temporary “excited state”, but it has permanent impact on these systems.