Intervention in portuguese historic villages facing desertification and climate change

Abstract

The 12 Historical Villages of Portugal, located on the border between Serra da Estrela and Spain, are a remarkable piece of Portuguese history. However, these villages have been deeply impacted by the increasing issue of depopulation, aging, and abandonment. While this phenomenon is not limited to these villages, there are certainly unique factors that contribute to the tension between maintaining the historical significance of the villages and addressing the everyday needs of the local. In the particular context of the buildings that still withstand, mostly in the central areas of the villages, many of those who insist on remaining in this territory end up abandoning the stone houses inside the villages and migrating to new buildings built in their surroundings. Despite its valuable symbolic capital (for its environmental, landscape and heritage potential), the tourism sector is clearly not the sole answer as its revenue to the local economy proves to be insufficient for the essential material, social and economic balance that attracts and fixes the population. The issue of unattractiveness in these villages is multifaceted. A key factor contributing to this problem is poor housing conditions, which fail to provide residents with the comfort they deserve. This lack of comfort also results in misguided interventions that mischaracterize the existing heritage, leading to a further devaluation of the symbolic capital of these communities. Considering this context and in articulation with the SDG11, it is imperative to establish solid bases for interventions in existing buildings that allow reconciling the need for adequate comfort levels with the protection of the landscape and heritage legacy, which incorporate innovation in terms of sustainability of materials and energy expenditure, with an alliance of ancestral knowledge with innovation in efficient water management, but also that pay attention to environmental, social, economic sustainability with beneficial impact on society and territory. These bases must also incorporate an adaptation to climate change that affects both the landscape and the comfort conditions inside the existent buildings.