Mayor of Porto lectures at Harvard on City Economics

The Mayor of Porto was invited as 'visiting lecture' at Harvard University's Kennedy School in the United States. As part of the seminar dedicated to City Economics, Rui Moreira took the example of Porto's transformation to one of the world's most prestigious universities, member of the Ivy League's elite circle.

The focus on culture and the reduction of the Municipality's debt, as well as the green spaces expansion evolution, were some of the themes that the Mayor brought up as examples of the city's governance over the last decade.

Rui Moreira also showed how Porto has been investing in mobility policies, such as supporting young people between the ages of 13 and 18 to have a free pass on public transport or the multiplication of metro lines.

Innovations such as the Porto Card and Line were also examples that the Mayor took to the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School.

In addition to the municipal investment in the city's sports facilities, the requalification of schools or the rehabilitation of the Historic Centre and Mercado do Bolhão market, Rui Moreira highlighted the simplification of licensing processes or the recovery of municipal properties as ways of supporting a greater housing supply in the city.

The city's great attractiveness when it comes to developing start-ups while valuing traditional shops, also makes Porto an economically dynamic city, the Mayor said, not forgetting to mention its capacity to attract tourists.