Regularisation of the PRODAC Quarters

This is a housing, resettlement and urbanisation process that began in the times of dictatorship and industrial frenzy in the eastern part of Lisbon. It tells us about the rural exodus to the capital, the expectations of those who lived in very poor housing conditions at Quinta do Marquês and Quinta das Claras and built their houses by themselves through a cooperative program of the Association for Productivity in Self-Construction (PRODAC). The Lisbon City Council yielded the land precariously in 1971 and built walls and ceilings. The residents built everything else. In 2009, the 2500 people who inhabited this neighbourhood at Vale do Fundão requested the regularisation of property ownership. The authors followed this process, funded by the BIP/ZIP Programme of the Lisbon City Council, through house surveys and regulatory verification. The design of the amphitheatre and new accessibility were relevant to the consolidation and urban continuity of the quarter in regard to its surroundings.