On the Porto Atlantic Front

Abstract

The Porto Atlantic Front is an inter-municipal association of multiple purposes constituted by the municipalities of Matosinhos, Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia. Why did it appear? How does it fit in the context of the Portuguese State territorial governance in the country’s mainland? What impact has had on development as freedom of the 3 municipalities? The research method used was the case study. It included collecting documental information, interviews with key political actors, and a preliminary assessment of the Porto Atlantic Front according to dimensions corresponding to the instrumental freedoms of Amartya Sen’s development as freedom theory. Results show that the Porto Atlantic Front: i) arose from the need to coordinate actions among the 3 municipalities; ii) has given a voice to the sub-region and the region to which it belongs; and iii) indicates to have positive impacts on development as freedom of the 3 municipalities.