Understanding the EU Urban Agenda from the margins of Europe: the case of Porto

This research focuses on the EU regional policy and presents a critical analysis of its influence on the urban regeneration process in the Portuguese city of Porto. A particular attention was drawn to the city’s historic centre has been facing a diverse range of challenges and been the stage of different urban policies. Among the actions that have been implemented are two area-based interventions linked to the EU Cohesion Policy. The study allowed to put forward a series of consideration regarding the influence of EU initiatives in this southwestern European city and hopefully the insights resulting from it will not only help to understand local effects of EU instruments at the level of implementation.