Planning cultures in conflict - City reconstruction in the region of Lisbon

The plans for an ambitious high-rise building project on the grounds of the former Lisnave shipyards, across from the historical centre of Lisbon, polarised public opinion already in 1999, when the shipyard was still in use. The local municipality took up the challenge and developed its own alternative planning ideas. The analysis shows that, behind the debates about future uses for the former industrial waterfront, there are conflicting concepts of modernization held by different political cultures. By focusing on the role of the planning cultures involved, on the cultural dimensions of planning in a dynamic field, and on the development of new planning methods and practices of cooperation - here in the context of recent forms of Urban Governance -, an interesting innovative research field for cultural anthropology and European ethnology is opening up.