The uncertainty that arises from future environmental and climatic challenges requires new approaches towards urban water management in Mediterranean cities. In this work, an urban water cycle (UWC) strategy based on the best management practices (BMPs) of water-sensitive urban design (WSUD) is proposed for the transition of a coastal city in the south of Portugal into a water-sensitive city (WSC), in line with the Municipal Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation of Loulé (EMAAC of Loulé). The city’s watershed was identified using the ArcMap Hydrology toolset with geospatial data provided by Loulé’s Municipal Council Operational Unit for Adaptation to Climate Change and Circular Economy (UOACEC). A broad characterisation of the study area was conducted, identifying existing resources to further develop a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. The Hydrology toolset outputs, precipitation events records, and survey results were used to identify flood-prone areas. The opportunities and threats identified were further used to develop the transition strategy, which is focused on critical areas identified and supported by BMPs, including source control, attenuation, treatment and infiltration measures, permeable pavements, rainwater harvesting systems, and bioretention basins. The approach is designed to increase the city’s resilience to climate extremes, as well as community engagement towards UWC management.

Local knowledge and communities’ active role in disaster risk areas are recognized in the literature as key conditions to better understand risks, enhance adaptive capacities and foster local resilience. A participatory action research project in forest fire-prone areas in Monchique, Portugal, is aligned with the literature and adopts participatory mapping as a method that can bring evidence to the importance of local knowledge and communities’ agency. In the BRIDGE Project, different types of knowledge are integrated, triggering local/collective agency and fostering a forest fire community-based disaster risk reduction (CBDRR) approach. An innovation laboratory (InnoLab) provides the space for dialogue and knowledge sharing for different actors that manage forest territories. In the InnoLab, participatory mapping is used as a method to engage landowners where risk factors and local vulnerabilities were identified. Their active engagement enabled a collective perception in the assessment of vulnerability and led to the identification of strategic measures for risk reduction. This paper shares the process and outcomes of this participatory mapping, highlighting the benefits of a community approach and the importance of local knowledge and practices as recognized in the literature. It also reveals how the active role of local stakeholders can help drive a CBDRR process.

No contexto do Algarve, o clima associado à altitude são caraterísticas marcantes no concelho de Monchique, o que lhe confere especificidade, nomeadamente no que respeita à paisagem e à disponibilidade do recurso água. Face aos valores que lhe estão associados e à emergência de novas culturas e modificações do comportamento social, onde se privilegia a reaproximação à natureza, procurando-se novas sensações e formas de lazer, considerou-se este concelho um destino privilegiado para a prática de atividades de turismo e lazer em meio rural. Neste enquadramento, tem-se por objectivo primordial potenciar e recuperar a plurifuncionalidade do património e paisagem ligados à água, através do levantamento, caraterização e criação de condições que permitam o usufruto destes, por parte das populações locais e dos meios urbanos, alargando-se assim a oferta turística, a qual se destaca dos produtos turísticos oferecidos na região, fortemente apoiados no turismo de sol e praia. Como principais resultados do estudo referem-se as intervenções preconizadas, tendo em vista a melhoria e criação de novos espaços, que permitam às populações a reaproximação à natureza e a prática de atividades de lazer, em contexto rural. Como exemplo, indicam-se as propostas desenvolvidas para o Barranco dos Pisões, nomeadamente, a criação de um parque de merendas, a reabilitação da linha de água no troço confinante com este espaço e a criação de um centro de interpretação da dinâmica ribeirinha de montanha.

Land management is a relevant problem in rural areas all over the world, conditioning the planning decisions and the applicability of planning instruments. This study evaluates the limitations of cadastral data in representing land fragmentation and management patterns in wild-fire-prone landscapes, using Alferce (Portugal) as a case study with broader international relevance. Similar challenges—fragmented ownership, incomplete land registries, and increasing wildfire risk—affect many regions worldwide, particularly across the Mediterranean basin and other fire-prone rural landscapes. A mixed-methods approach combines cadastral data with field data from 23 landowners producing two datasets: cadaster-only and ownership-enhanced. Fragmentation is assessed using Simmons and Januszewki indices, supported by spatial analysis (Kernel Density and Moran’s I). Results show that cadastral data alone significantly overestimates fragmentation. While parcel-based analysis suggests a highly fragmented landscape, incorporating ownership information reveals more aggregated management structures. The 23 landowners manage 1247 ha (≈13% of the area), forming a “keystone” group with strong potential for coordinated land management and fire prevention. Higher fragmentation is associated with population centers. These findings demonstrate that cadastral units do not reflect functional management units and considerations about property fragmentation are biased by the lack of information about the owners, a key theoretical contribution with implications beyond Portugal. For policymakers, integrating ownership data and targeting key land managers can improve land use planning and wildfire mitigation and, overall, the sustainability of the territory. Despite limitations (small sample), the approach is transferable to other regions facing similar structural constraints.

Land-use fragmentation is an important issue for land management and rural development. For the last few decades, the relationship between mankind and land has become more dynamic though the traditional cadastral system has been slow in responding to the changing needs of society. Associated with land-use fragmentation, there are different sizes of land parcels with different biophysical characteristics that will dictate different land management decisions, and, in many countries, it is a problem that constitutes a challenge for correct land management. This article proposes a compromise programming approach for determining the biophysical potential of land parcels. This approach was implemented in Loulé municipality, Portugal, in more than 50,000 parcels. Results were promising since the approach was able to build a ranking of parcels that have different biophysical conditions, proving that this approach is relevant and interesting for land management.