Evolution of the City urban Structure

Contributions to the proposal of a Structure Plan

Extended abstract

Dénis da Graça Andrade

Dissertation for the Master Degree in Urban Studies and Territorial Management

Supervisor: Professor Doutor Jorge Baptista e Silva

October 2016

Introduction This study aims to analyze the evolution of urban structure of the Mindelo city, through history, with special emphasis on the development of the urban area within the last 45 years (1969-2014) and the preparation of contributions to a proposal of urban structure, considering principally the system formed by the island of St. Vincent as an Island-city, that is defined by its essentially urban character, especially by Mindelo, his only city, which contain 92.5% of the population of the Island.

In this study we emphasis in the historical evolution of the city, pointing out the most important moments that characterized the population growth, the biophysical description of S. Vincent Island and the identification of the main structural elements, that conditioned the human occupation of the island, through the examination of the several urban instruments that have designed the evolution of Mindelo city.

In the last step of this study, we elaborated the diagnosis of the current situation of the city structure in connection with the S. Vincent Island, identifying the main strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the system, based on environmental, urban and social economic factors. Finally, we gave some contribute to urban structure of Mindelo city, which is included in the St. Vincent designed structure, that ensuring urban cohesion, environmental sustainability and economic viability.

1 Methodology, urban history, economic and demographic characterization

1.1 Methodology The methodologies used in this manuscript are essentially analytical with resource of the available information in accessed bibliographic, including Sites and Sources, Cartographic Officers, Documentation Centres, Libraries, Dissertations Repositories, etc. First, it proceeded to a historical analysis of the island evolution using current bibliography. Secondly it was designed a digital terrain model of the S Vicente island, that formed the basis of geographical and biophysics representation; then we proceeded to the spatial analysis of occupation, through the identification of urban living spot in town at 4 periods of time (1969, 1993, 2003, 2014), as well as the identification of the advantages and the disadvantages associated to the SWOT analysis method, which supported the development of the future scenarios. Finally, it was drawn up the structure for Mindelo in the context of St. Vincent, and the structural elements were individualized to forming the proposal, which was outlined manually and then drowned on Arcgis.

1.2 Urban history of the Mindelo city The history of Mindelo city can be divided into three main periods: its foundation (1794-1850); development, crisis and stagnation (1850-1960) and its transformation (from 1960 to actuality). The city of Mindelo was founded upon the official settlement of S. Vincent island, between 1794 and 1797, having the beginning of the human occupation been characterized by various crises that justified the several names changes of Mindelo throughout history, from Village “Don Rodrigo” in 1798, Village ”Leopoldina” in 1819 and finally Village of Mindelo, in 1838. The cyclical droughts that have always

1 affected the islands contributed to demographic fluctuations of St. Vincent Island, which justified the several repopulations of the island and consequently the constant news beginnings of the Mindelo urban settlement.

The 2nd stage was characterized by a high growth, which beginning in the 2nd half of the nineteenth century, with the fixing of the coal companies in the “ Grande” in 1850 and it reached its peak at the end of the century. During this period Mindelo becoming the main city of the archipelago as a result of the generated development inherent to its harbour that became one of the most visited in the mid-Atlantic and this development justified its elevation to town category in 1858 and city in 1879. The city developed a long this period, and the downtown was formed through traditional urbanism, with rectangular narrow blocks, but the part that grew more in this period was the port area with the major occupations of the coast by the coaling companies.

In twentieth century, Mindelo city suffered serious crisis associated to the technological development that produced changes in the use of fuel resource (coal was replaced for oil). The Porto Grande did not follow this development because they didn´t created port infrastructure essential for modernization, which contribute to low level of competition with ports of Dakar, and Tenerife. Although, the city in the 1st half of the XX century faced a high increase of population taking advantage of the hand work flows, arriving from the agricultural island in periods of cyclical droughts. This movement originated several districts outside the more consolidated urban area with no apparent link with the oldest urban core.

The 3rd period is characterized by transformation of the existing and overcome the disordered structure of the city, marked by a strong investment of the Portuguese state in the transformation of Mindelo city's image. The city reached great modernization essentially by the construction of the new wharf in 1961 and the implementation of new development plans for the entire city, which intended to the incorporation of peripheral neighbourhoods in the same city (realized through plans parcelled and the rehabilitation of the areas of the historic centre that had been abandoned by the coaling companies). The transformation and development of the city continued in the post-independence period, but without effective plans of monitoring, that could control urban sprawl.

1.3 Urban, demographic and economic characterization of Mindelo city

The city of Mindelo, located in the northwest of St. Vincent Island, in the sheltered bay of “Porto Grande”, in a little sloped area, while for it passes some of the largest island's watercourses and located in an area below 100 meters of altitude. Its expansion processed in form of oil stain, avoiding the tops of the hills and following the main roads direction.

It seems that the areas occupied by the Mindelo city are predominantly those with lower slopes (0-4%) and very rarely on slopes still moderately low (4-12%), despite the recent occupation of the slopes in the Northeast and Southeast direction, which tends to expand to higher slope (12-25%). The higher

2 slopes (25-58%) of the St. Vincent Island, recorded just outside the city of Mindelo, on 4 major mountain ranges that structure of the São Vicente Island.

Fig. 1 The location of Mindelo city in S. Vicente Island

The Mindelo city location is product of the better use of whether good conditions (sun exposure) in the northern part of the volcanic caldera of Mindelo. Its position in relation to the large harbor bay, where the protection of northeast winds provided by the northern hills of this island made it possible to establish itself near the “Porto Grande” bay. It was expanding toward the flatter areas and next the small valleys surrounded in the northern part of the volcanic caldera. The other urban centres of São Vicente island located in the coastal areas, along the coves or bays sheltered, most particularly the urban centres of “São Pedro”, “”, “Baía das Gatas” and Calhau and some scattered rural settlements in the interior of the island including rural spots (“Ribeira de Julião”, “”, “” and “Lameirão”).

Demographically, Sao Vicente island population in 1807 was about 0.2% of Cape Verde inhabitants, which in 1950 represented 13% of population, becoming the 3rd island. Then, in the last census (INE, 2010) it represented 15.5% Cape Verde inhabitant, taking the 2nd position, which showed the great distance to the largest island of Cape Verde, Santiago (55% of total population). Nevertheless of considerable unemployment, St. Vincent island continued in the 2nd position, relatively to Growth Domestic Product (GDP) contribution (INE, 2015), on the development and distribution of GDP in Cape Verde islands in the period 2007-2012, representing 15.2% of Cape Verde's GDP.

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2 Planning and the development of Mindelo city structure around the last period of its history.

After the main goal characterization, we focus in the analyse of the several urbanistic instruments developed to Mindelo, during the last phase of history (1960-2015), with special emphasis on main crucial period of urban structure evolution development plans for this island, 1960.

2.1 Successive development plans for the Mindelo city and the S. Vicente Island

Three development plans were drawn up for Mindelo, during the period of (1959-1974). Through this period the activity of the cabinet of colonial urbanization increased. The first plan was made in 1959 which formed the basis of the other plans preparation, the Director Base Plan in 1960, and Master Plan in 1969.

The master plans for Mindelo had two proposals, on one hand throw the existing urban structure, leading the urban renovation of the built city and the entire front coastline in order to restructure the city around its wide bay. On the other hand, they pretended to go further urban sprawl by creating the required road infrastructure for various peripheral cores connection, with the oldest nucleus. The last proposal would be materialized through the several partial plans that promoted consolidation of the urban structure of Mindelo city, which nowadays it’s basically characterized by continuity between the neighbourhoods’ fractions, in contrast to the existing urban situation in 1960.

Fig. 2 Urban plans elaborated for Mindelo City and S. Vicente Island (1959-2011).

They were also elaborated several partial plans for Mindelo to improve the strategic options of the master plans of 1960 and 1969, and that were developed during the sixties and early seventies decades of the last century.

Post-independence period it was drawn up two plans for the city, and the first constituted only as a defining characteristic of the city (Plan 1979) and the second Urban Development Plan (1995), defined in conjunction with the master plan of St. Vincent (1994). The last one still in using, despite having exceeded the time horizon of 2007, although it has been elaborated another master plan (2011) for the island, unsuccessful due to strategic divergences. Finally, with the elaboration of the S. Vincent Island EROT 2012 (Regional Planning scheme), a mandatory document with strategic nature, it was created important conditions for the revision of the Master and urbanised plan for the city, to assure more effective control by the municipal authorities of the Mindelo urban growth.

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2.2 Physical limit concept and evolution of the Mindelo urban structure (1969-2014)

After the urban instruments exposition, created for the city in the last period of history, some cartographical schemes was produced, which described the evolution of Mindelo urban structure, according to the cartographic elements, available for analyses during four subs periods (1969, 1993, 2003 and 2004).

To compare the area occupied by Mindelo extension in each period, it was essential to define an area of study that consisted of the circumscribed area on the edge of the city. However, Mindelo has at least three different limits: the first is defined as the Mindelo consolidated perimeter, the second by the government, as an administrative boundary and the last one is defined by the municipality. The last limit corresponds to all of the volcanic caldera where the city is located. With the combination of these three limits it was possible to propose a functional limit to the Mindelo city that was set at 20.35 km2.

For this study city limit was assumed, as a functional limit, because generally speaking a city must contain inside its boundaries all the important structures for its inhabitant’s sustainability. Consequently, in the limits of a city concept the load capacity of its constituents should be considered. The existing residential areas and possible urban expansion must be added, as well as industrial areas, industrial expansion and areas for the installation of the large equipment, public spaces, recreational areas and green spaces. The green spaces should be included in the ecological structure of a city, in addition to the basic infrastructure to guarantee the better life quality of his population.

When we compare the evolution of the urban area to the area of study (which corresponds to the area circumscribed by the functional limit proposed for the city), we found that in 1969, only 9% of the city area was occupied, and this amount reached 21.9% in 1993, 33% in 2003 and 43% in 2014. This increments revealed that the occupied area of Mindelo city didn’t reached yet half of the restricted area, within the functional limits of the city.

Table 1 Evolution of Mindelo urban area (1969-2014)

Rate of Annual Period in Variation Time span Growth per Year change Growth rate Análise (hectares) (Years) (hectares/year) (%) (%/Year) 1969-1993 185 to 445 = 260 140 24 10 3,7 1993-2003 445 to 663=218 49 10 21,8 4,1 2003-2014 663 to 877=214 32 11 19,4 2,6 1969-2014 185 to 877= 692 374 45 15,4 3,5

The main conclusion that was reached is that the city has grown into a model of form of oil slick, bypassing the main orographic accidents. However, it presents a more or less compact structure, with few dispersion outbreaks, except the “Lazareto” core with his specified industrial character.

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Fig. 3 Evolution of the Mindelo urban area (1969, 1993, 2003 e 2014)

3. Contributions to a design plan for the Mindelo city and the S. Vincent Island

3.1. Development scenarios of the city of Mindelo Taking into account the objectives and the three recommended strategic lines followed by the SWOT analysis method of the diagnosis of the São Vicente Island/ Mindelo, there was proposed three scenarios for the growth of the city of Mindelo, one trend, following the continuing urban growth trends a more proactive scenario following the expectations generated by certain development anchors that may be potentiated in the territory and a third more realistic scenario which should be the basis for our proposed urban structure.

The trend scenario arises through the analysis of urban growth expectations in line with the latest dynamics of population growth of the Mindelo city, making this scenario that continues the city's progression following the main axes of the city and occupying the main sloped areas involving Mindelo, and continuing the growth in the form of oil slick.

The proactive scenario is the most interventionist, using the maximization mechanism of all system elements and thus tends to extrapolate the growth projections for maximum levels. Finally, the more realistic scenario aims to integrate environmental social economics; physical and urban factors to ensure the containment of the city expansion, searching to restriction his increase according to the housing and equipment needs city and proposing specific areas for the development of this dynamic, as well as areas for industrial and tourist growth, according to the current and anticipated needs.

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3.2 Structural Elements In order to elaborate the plan of the current Mindelo structure it was preceded to the identification of structural elements that characterize the current structure of the city and St. Vincent Island and which should guide the future development, which were grouped into four categories:

1º Biophysical nature spaces or biophysical invariant because are those do not usually change over time, particularly water lines and the major orographic accidents. Given the physical and climatic conditions of the island of S. Vicente, they were identified the main water lines of non-permanent character and the orographic accidents located above of 100 meters of the sea level, which have been defined through the military map and the digital terrain model of S. Vincent Island.

2º Structuring spaces resulting from human activity that organize spatially a city and are decisive in its vitality. They can be grouped into 4 or 5 categories according to the requirements, namely the road and transport infrastructure, which were identified as roads level 1 and 2 and the urban roads, beyond the port infrastructure and military airport; also large areas of economic activities, such as industrial areas, services; the centrality and the historic centre of Mindelo; in addition to the larger equipments and the most important public spaces, where the existing green areas were integrated.

3º Undefined spaces, that may be areas not occupied with urban construction and no apparent use. In the Mindelo city they were defined as the high areas of the hills, located inside the city and its surroundings, in addition to some low areas located in floodplains.

4 º Problematic spaces, which are already, occupied areas but who have use conflicts that must be solved. They were identified as problematic spaces, the areas of flood plains of the main water lines waterproofed Mindelo city, slopes areas in the north, and areas with obsolete infrastructure.

Fig. 4 Structural elements of S. Vincent Island

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3.3 Proposed structure of the island of the S. Vincent Island and Mindelo city With the identification of the structural elements of the system, it was possible identify the main problems that resulted from the human occupation of a city that was transformed throughout history by the guidance of various urban planning instruments and with the expectative of a better orientation of its future urban expansion it was drew up a proposed structure for the St. Vincent island which is assumed as an integrator proposal that must include all the components of the system.

The 1st component that must be consider is his eminently urban character, with the largest urban concentration, the city of Mindelo been the subject of a specific proposal in an appropriate scale taking into accounts the main components of the urban system, including meeting the housing, industrial, tertiary and tourist expansion needs, as well as ensuring the urban sprawl of other urban centres.

The 2nd component to be considered is the environmental component, through the delimitation of more protected areas and those that by their special vocations need a special protection. To avoid the environment commitment it is necessary the creation of Landscapes reserved areas in order to prevent its occupation by economic, urban, tourist or other activity.

The 3rd component is the economic, with tourism as one of the engine of the S. Vincent Island development, but safeguarding the specific characteristics of the same. In order to boost the Island economy, it will also be taken into account his port capacity, without clashing with the other strategic options, such as the urban regeneration of Mindelo and his relation with the “Porto Grande” bay.

Given the focus on urban cohesion, it is urgent to ensure the environmental protection of a lot of the territory, because of their vulnerability. So it is proposed to increase the protected areas of the island of Sao Vicente. It is proposed to create reserved landscape areas in the major landforms that are the remains of the old edge of the volcanic caldera, which formed the S. Vincent Island.

The economic development of the St. Vincent Island should be leveraged in some neuralgic projects such the development of the port capacities, creating a new commercial port in the south of the Island, which may increase his goods storage capacity, causing his transformation in a great international transhipment platform in the Atlantics as well as the use the tourist capacities of the island such as the rehabilitation and regeneration across the “Porto Grande” Bay, with a view to their use for tourism.

So, the touristic perspective for the S. Vincent Island should not be seen in the perspective of ZDTIs as made in the other touristic islands, because this touristic perspective do not provide guarantees of an integrated tourism development since the adoption of the standard of resorts in the Cape Verde islands has led to an environmental adulteration, as has forced municipalities to carry out extension of the infrastructure outside the phased planning areas, with the costs associated. Therefore, the tourism should be integrated into the existing urban areas taking advantage of the natural growth of the same.

To support this proposal it must be projected new road infrastructure which will connect the main infrastructure of the island with the main urban centers of the island, ensuring the decongestion of the Mindelo city and a better mobility of the S. Vincent Islands populations.

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Fig. 5 Proposed structure of St. Vincent Island

Conclusion The characterization of urban structure was prepared through the analysis of the main urbanistic instruments developed in the last period of its history (1960-2014), followed by urban structure evolution in four historical moments during this period. From this analysis it was possible to develop the current urban structure where the main structural elements of characterization were identified. We achieved that S. Vincent Island presents an urban structure characterized by urban concentration, in spite of the recent Mindelo expansion in vulnerable areas, such as floodplains and steep slopes.

After the identification of the main structural elements of the city, it was elaborated a summary of the diagnosis of the current situation. After, three growth scenarios to the city and tree strategic axes was developed which enabled to proceed to the strategic objectives, culminating in this structural proposal.

This was based on three main strategic axes: Urban growth of Mindelo city, structured by the economic development of the S. Vincent Island, boosted by tourism, the port development and having as supportive element the environmental enhancement in order to promote a sustainable structural proposal in the horizon of 20 to 30 years. The articulation of the various planning areas can ensure better implementation of the proposals presented here, either by an updated and well designed Master Plan, taking into account the higher constant level policies of the various levels of planning instruments, national and regional and which will jointly promote a more sustainable development of the S. Vincent Island and Mindelo city in the coming years.

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