The AMP – Metropolitan Area of Porto, located on the northern coast of Portugal, officially constituted in 1992, is a urban region developed around the city of Oporto, defined by the territory of the Atlantic seafront and the major axis determined by the Douro river. Currently, AMP consists of the cluster of 17 municipalities that occupy a total area of 2,061 km2 (2.2% of the national territory) with a population of approximately 1,7 million inhabitants (representing 16.67% of Portuguese population).
The 17 municipalities of AMP are: Arouca, Espinho, Gondomar, Maia, Matosinhos, Oliveira de Azeméis, Paredes, Porto, Póvoa de Varzim, Santa Maria da Feira, Santo Tirso, São João da Madeira, Trofa, Vale de Cambra, Valongo, Vila do Conde and Vila Nova de Gaia (fig. 1).
In Portugal there are two metropolis, Porto and Lisbon, which led to the institutionalization of Metropolitan Areas as an appropriated institution to seek joint solutions of the structural problems affecting this cluster of municipalities.
It is mostly in the context of the EU Programs, nowadays with the 2020 agenda, that the action of this entities is expected to be strengthened with a larger concession of a global fund to support the investment. Still, the Metropolitan Area of Porto has the responsibility of management and coordination of the metropolitan networks, especially in the areas of transport and sustainable mobility, water and waste, energy, economic and tourist promotion, innovation and programs for regional development.
