Lezíria do Tejo: Agriculture and urban sprawl on the Lisbon metropolitan fringes

The article analyses urban and agricultural dynamics in the Lezíria do Tejo region. Located on the Lisbon third metropolitan ring, this region is currently facing the decline of agriculture along with an urban sprawl that is occurring mainly through the conversion of farmland. According to the Regional Spatial Plan (PROT-OVT), one of the solutions to enhance agricultural activity and farmland preservation is agricultural multifunctionality. We focus on understanding how urbanisation has changed agricultural areas through the analysis of land use/cover in the Municipal Master Plans (PDM) zoning and in the National Agricultural Reserve (RAN) zoning. We also focus on analysing how local actors are facing these current issues. Results show the way that local planning instruments and territorial actors respond to urban sprawl and agricultural decline. They enhance the role that multifunctionality can play in such responses and reveal the need of an approach capable of integrating both functional zoning and actors' projects.