Urban Brownfields Regeneration: A European Perspective and Application to Portugal

The decline of industrial activity across Europe has produced extensive brownfield landscapes that today constitute both a challenge and a strategic opportunity for urban regeneration and the promotion of new sustainable urbanisation models. In Portugal, the regeneration of urban brownfields could play an important role in addressing current housing pressures and socio-economic and territorial imbalances. In this context, the present study adopts a qualitative approach, supported by descriptive spatial analysis, drawing on a benchmark study of 27 urban brownfield regeneration projects in European cities, complemented by the results of two European research projects, to identify key principles and strategies guiding these interventions. A systematic synthesis of benchmark findings is used to derive a set of urban brownfield regeneration guidelines. These guidelines are subsequently applied to two selected brownfield sites in Abrantes, a Portuguese municipality characterised by an industrial past, following their identification and spatial analysis through GIS and in situ observation. The results demonstrate that urban brownfield regeneration can contribute to addressing housing needs, reducing pressure on undeveloped land, optimising existing infrastructure, strengthening local urban dynamics, and enhancing climate change adaptation. As industrial decline continues to reshape European territories, the study contributes to ongoing debates on decision-making and sustainable urban planning by providing a transferable set of regeneration guidelines and demonstrating their application in a specific territorial context.