Distinctive features of spatial planning nearby estuaries – an exploratory analysis of water-related rules in municipal master plans in Portugal

Abstract

Land-use types and related intensities are often associated with pressures and disturbances on estuarine envi- ronmental values and ecosystem services provided by water. Although with varied legal frameworks across countries, broadly, spatial planning has been expected to contribute to the protection of environmentally sen- sitive areas, such as estuaries. Among the various planning tools are the plan’s land-use control rules. This article studies the incorporation of water-related terms in the regulations of municipal master plans to assess if land-use rules established on estuarine areas are significantly different from others, such as in upstream areas. It does so by developing a content analysis of a set of plans’ regulations located in estuarine and upstream areas of two river basins of Mainland Portugal. The results show greater incorporation of water-related terms in plans’ reg- ulations located in estuarine areas. Moreover, they show a greater diversity of water-related topics, types, and focus of rules on estuarine areas, whereas on upstream areas the regulatory approaches look poorer. Although the incorporation of water-related terms is globally higher in younger plans, and to a certain extent, in more arti- ficialized and dense territories, a clear distinctiveness of water-related concerns in land-use regulations of municipal plans on estuarine areas remains visible. Surprisingly, the results bring to the fore fragilities of land- use regulations on upstream areas worthy of attention in future studies. The methodology used for content analysis disclosed a valuable path for future research as it is easily expandable to take into consideration different land-uses or to be applied to different regions, to further refine if the distinctive features are explicitly related with estuarine areas or with other types of water problems.