Ecopolitics and the Making of Lisbon’s Green Infrastructure (1764-2020)

This book reveals how the city’s politics, culture, and ecology shaped urban nature from 1764 to 2020. Through a longue durée history of Lisbon’s public gardens and green spaces, it offers new insights into green infrastructure, climate adaptation, and the making of the modern city.

Drawing on urban history, environmental history, history of science, and landscape studies, the book uncovers how Lisbon’s gardens, parks, boulevards, and tree-lined streets became laboratories of urban modernity and ecological adaptation. Through emblematic case studies, ranging from the Passeio Público and Estrela Garden to Monsanto and Lisbon’s Green Capital transformation, it shows how political regimes, scientific expertise, and civic life shaped the city’s green infrastructure across centuries. Thereby, it presents a deeper understanding of the historical roots of contemporary debates on climate resilience, sustainability, public space, and social life in cities.

This book is intended for scholars and students of urban history, environmental history, landscape architecture, urban studies, history of science, and Portuguese studies, as well as policymakers, planners, environmental professionals, and general readers interested in Lisbon, sustainability, climate adaptation, and the historical relationship between cities and nature.