Functional Polycentrism: An Evaluation of Portuguese Municipalities

Abstract

This paper aims at develop an evaluation of the func- tional polycentrism of Portuguese municipalities. For that purpose, we developed a critical assessment of the con- cepts of polycentrism and functional polycentrism whose assumptions guide most of the policies of regional plan- ning, and present the main methodologies for its evalua- tion. We then proceed with the evaluation of polycentrism in Portugal, by using Social Network Analysis and Cluster Analysis. The study considers the variable “commuting flows home-to-work” and the results suggest that, from 1991 to 2001, the Portuguese urban system presents a net- work of commuting denser, less centralized, more dis- persed and more clustered.