- The Impact of closed Condominiums in the metropolitan Area of Oporto    1471 kb by    Santos Cruz, Sara & Pinho, Paulo | scruz@fe.up.pt    Short Outline The paper studies of the impact of private residential developments, (closed condominiums) in the urban form of the area of Greater Oporto, using an innovative methodology, and contributing to a better understanding of these new types of urban production. Abstract The paper is part of a research project which is currently studying the impact of private residential developments, so-called closed condominiums in the urban form of the area of Greater Oporto, at two different scales of analysis – micro and macro. The micro scale comprises the analysis of the local physical and social impacts of these new developments on the immediate surroundings and on the existing urban and suburban fabric. The macro scale refers to the whole structure of the area of Greater Oporto. During the last two decades, the phenomenon of closed condominiums has amplified the wider trends of urban dispersion and fragmentation of this metropolitan area. Our main concern is the identification and analysis of the physical and functional impacts of these private residential developments on the overall metropolitan form and structure. A large sample of closed condominiums was selected from the six municipalities of Greater Oporto, and was studied according to several indicators through a typomorphological analysis. Closed condominiums are usually recognized by their high level of functional auto-sufficiency presenting, consequently, a greater capacity to adapt to different locations and urban contexts. The research points out to the importance of these residential developments in reshaping certain urban and suburban areas, specially taking into consideration the past evolution and present dynamics of the metropolitan area of Oporto. The paper is expected to offer an innovative methodology to analyze the impact of closed condominiums on the urban form and to contribute to a better understanding of these new types of urban production in the overall metropolitan form and structure and provide valuable recommendations to design more responsive planning policies. Keywords Private residential developments, impact on urban form, Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2008: Urban Growth without Sprawl   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper