The Lisbon Metropolitan Region (LMA) connects the capital with a network of peri-urban municipalities, industrial zones, port facilities, and natural assets on both sides of the Tagus estuary. It is a major hub for commuter flows, logistics, tourism, and energy infrastructure, characterised by strong contrasts between dense urban centres, expanding suburbs, and coastal and riverfront areas. The region has committed to ambitious climate and mobility targets and is advancing integrated strategies across public transport, active mobility, port decarbonisation, and clean energy.
Key challenges
High car dependency and peri-urban mobility pressure
The LMA generates 5.4 million daily trips, 65% of which are intra-metropolitan, with a car dependency rate of 56%. Peri-urban areas lack safe and well-connected cycling and active mobility infrastructure.
Freight flow and logistics impacts in peri-urban areas
Industrial facilities and logistics hubs in the peri-urban territory generate significant vehicle movements that are difficult to monitor, manage and reduce without adequate data tools and policies.
Untapped renewable energy potential in industrial and logistics facilities
Despite Portugal’s reliance on renewable energy, rising energy demand in transport and industry increases cost pressures. Unused rooftops and industrial spaces in peri-urban areas offer significant solar self-production potential for SMEs and large facilities.
Traffic management gaps
Peri-urban municipalities lack consistent frameworks for managing traffic, parking and access restrictions in ways that support low-emission zones and sustainable mobility goals.
What the TSLL will address through ALTHEA
Planning instruments for a metropolitan cycleway network
The TSLL will develop planning tools and a metropolitan stakeholder platform to establish a safe, efficient, and interconnected cycling network across the LMA. The project partner TML will develop a key innovation tool within the BiclaR platform to prioritise bike parking. Using georeferenced and socio-spatial data, this tool will optimise regional cycling infrastructure and better integrate bikes with public transport.
Greener logistics in peri-urban settings
The TSLL will propose tools and policies for greener peri-urban logistics operations. This includes identifying smart local storage and consolidation hubs to optimise supply chains, while also monitoring, characterising, and controlling traffic flows for industrial facilities and regional logistic hubs.
Traffic management in peri-urban areas
ALTHEA will develop and propose a regulatory and operational framework for traffic and parking management in peri-urban areas, supporting the introduction of limited access zones, low-emission zones and parking restrictions.
Solar energy production in industrial and logistics facilities
Through ALTHEA, the TSLL will map solar photovoltaic potential in industrial and logistics hubs in peri-urban areas to accelerate photovoltaic uptake. Beyond just mapping, the TSLL will assess the feasibility of collective self-consumption systems, namely at the Port of Setúbal facilities.
