Mindelo

Mindelo developed in close association with Porto Grande, making the harbour fundamental to the city's urbanisation. Research on its waterfront traces successive stages in which port activity and urban growth initially advanced together, before later expansion weakened the connection between the city and its maritime edge.

The resulting relationship is a continuing urban design issue. Port areas occupy an important position in the built city, while recent interventions have sought to reconnect waterfront spaces with urban uses. Mindelo's form is therefore understood through both the infrastructure of the working harbour and the changing public and spatial relationships along its edge, rather than through the waterfront as scenery alone.