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Porto metropolitan area

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Porto Metropolitan Area
Área Metropolitana do Porto
Clockwise: Liberdade Square; Congregados Church; high-rises on Avenida da Boavista; view of Vila Nova de Gaia; Port of Leixões in Matosinhos; aerial view of the Porto Metropolitan Area; view of central Porto.
Core cityPorto
MunicipalitiesArouca, Espinho, Gondomar, Maia, Matosinhos, Oliveira de Azeméis, Paredes, Porto, Póvoa de Varzim, Santa Maria da Feira, Santo Tirso, São João da Madeira, Trofa, Vale de Cambra, Valongo, Vila Nova de Gaia and Vila do Conde.
Government
 • PresidentEduardo Vítor Rodrigues (PS)
Area
 • Total
2,040.31 km2 (787.77 sq mi)
Population
 (2018)
 • Total
1,737,395[1]
GDP
[2][3]
 • Total€39.179 billion (2022)
 • Per capita€22,603 (2022)
HDI (2017)0.835[4]
very high · 2nd
WebsiteOfficial website

The Porto Metropolitan Area (Portuguese: Área Metropolitana do Porto; abbreviated as AMP) is a metropolitan area in northern Portugal centered on the City of Porto, Portugal's second largest city.[5] The metropolitan area, covering 17 municipalities, is the second largest urban area in the country and one of the largest in the European Union, with a population in 2021 of 1,737,395[1] in an area of 2,040.31 km².[6][7]

The Porto Metropolitan Area is a major economic engine in Portugal, with a very high HDI (Human Development Index) and a GDP above the European average.[4] Porto has been Portugal's largest manufacturing region since the Industrial Revolution and is home to many of the country's largest corporations.

It is chaired by Eduardo Vítor Rodrigues (PS).

History

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The original Metropolitan Area of Porto was constituted by nine municipalities: Porto (the capital), Espinho, Gondomar, Maia, Matosinhos, Póvoa de Varzim, Vila Nova de Gaia, Valongo, and Vila do Conde. The process of enlargement:

Government

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The headquarters of the metropolitan area are located in Avenida dos Aliados.

The metropolitan area is governed by the Junta Metropolitana do Porto (JMP), headquartered in Avenida dos Aliados, in downtown Porto under the presidency of Hermínio Loureiro, also the mayor of Oliveira de Azeméis municipality, since the Municipal Elections held in 2013, when he succeeded Rui Rio, mayor of Porto.

The Assembleia Metropolitana do Porto (Porto Metropolitan Assembly) is composed of 43 MPs, the PSD party has 20 seats, the PS 16, the CDS 3, CDU 3 and the BE, one.

Although the government has halted the intention of creating new metropolitan areas and urban communities, it is keen to ensure greater autonomy to Porto and Lisbon metropolitan areas.

Urban areas and agglomeration

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Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia
Porto Urban Area at nigh, as seen from space

The Porto metropolitan area is the second largest metropolitan area of Portugal, with about 1.7 million people. It groups the larger Porto Urban Area, the second largest in the country, assembled by the municipalities of Porto, Matosinhos, Vila Nova de Gaia, Gondomar, Valongo and Maia. It also includes three smaller urban areas: Póvoa de Varzim-Vila do Conde, Trofa-Santo Tirso and Santa Maria da Feira-São João da Madeira-Oliveira de Azeméis.[8]

The urban-metropolitan agglomeration known as Porto Metropolitan Arch is a regional urban system of polycentric nature that encompasses the Porto Metropolitan Area and the sub-regions of Cávado, Ave and Tâmega e Sousa, including cities such as Braga and Guimarães.[8][9]

Population

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Municipality Area (km²)[6] Population (2011)[7] NUTS III region
Santo Tirso 136.60 71,530 Área Metropolitana do Porto
Trofa 72.02 38,999 Área Metropolitana do Porto
Arouca 329.11 22,359 Área Metropolitana do Porto
Oliveira de Azeméis 161.10 68,611 Área Metropolitana do Porto
Santa Maria da Feira 215.88 139,312 Área Metropolitana do Porto
São João da Madeira 7.94 21,713 Área Metropolitana do Porto
Vale de Cambra 147.33 22,864 Área Metropolitana do Porto
Espinho 21.06 31,786 Área Metropolitana do Porto
Gondomar 131.86 168,027 Área Metropolitana do Porto
Maia 82.99 135,306 Área Metropolitana do Porto
Matosinhos 62.42 175,478 Área Metropolitana do Porto
Porto 41.42 237,591 Área Metropolitana do Porto
Póvoa de Varzim 82.21 63,408 Área Metropolitana do Porto
Valongo 75.12 93,858 Área Metropolitana do Porto
Vila do Conde 149.03 79,533 Área Metropolitana do Porto
Vila Nova de Gaia 168.46 302,295 Área Metropolitana do Porto
Paredes 156.76 86,854 Área Metropolitana do Porto
Total 2,040.31 km² 1,759,524

Transportation

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Porto Metro network reaches seven municipalities of the metropolitan area.

The Metropolitan area is keen to develop its transportation network. Porto Metro is a Rapid transit system that links the municipalities of Porto, Vila Nova de Gaia, Matosinhos, Gondomar, Maia, Vila do Conde and Póvoa de Varzim.

The Porto/ Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport / Pedras Rubras (OPO), between the municipalities of Maia, Matosinhos, and Vila do Conde, is also one of its greater investments. It was transformed from an old and obsolete airport to a modern transportation centre, linked to Porto Metro. The JMP is also trying to pressure the government to add a TGV line to link Vigo in Galicia to Porto Airport in order to make Porto the air traffic centre of the North-Western Iberian Peninsula and to tighten its historical ties with that Spanish province.

Greater Porto is served by a great number of Motorways linking the main central areas of the metropolitan region and the region with other main Portuguese cities (cidades portuguesas). Main Harbour: Leixões (Matosinhos). Motorways:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b INE (2021). "Censos 2021".
  2. ^ "Produto interno bruto (B.1*g) a preços correntes (Base 2016 - €) por Localização geográfica (NUTS - 2013); Anual". www.ine.pt. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  3. ^ "Produto interno bruto (B.1*g) por habitante a preços correntes (Base 2016 - €) por Localização geográfica (NUTS - 2013); Anual". www.ine.pt. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  5. ^ Fernanda Paula Oliveira (2009), The Evolution and Regulation of the Metropolitan Areas in Portugal at the Internet Archive PDF (677 kB)
  6. ^ a b "Áreas das freguesias, concelhos, distritos e país". Archived from the original on 2018-11-05. Retrieved 2018-11-05.
  7. ^ a b Instituto Nacional de Estatística
  8. ^ a b NORTE 2030 - Estratégia de Desenvolvimento da RegiãoNorte
  9. ^ Atlas da Grande Área Metropolitana do Porto
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