Territorial Governance and Soft Planning in the Region of Lisbon

Metropolitan territorial governance has posed significant challenges worldwide, cutting across various states and contexts. Within the ongoing dynamics of governance rescaling that challenge conventional statutory geographies, there has been a notable emphasis on soft planning and soft spaces, impacting both planning practice and theory. In Portugal, these processes have been markedly influenced by the European Cohesion Policy and the corresponding allocation of Structural and Investment Funds. By actively promoting integrated territorial approaches, these policies have played a pivotal role in encouraging non-statutory planning practices. In this context, this chapter delves into the role of soft planning in the metropolitan governance of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area within the framework of inter-municipal cooperation in Portugal. It scrutinizes several strategies and policy documents developed over the last decade, engaging in discussions about how these have fostered a supra-municipal awareness that transcends the mere aggregation of individual and autonomous municipal actions and decision-making.