Municipality of Fundão
The Pitch
The Municipality of Fundão restored its urban center, created new jobs and adopted a participatory governance system to revitalize the city’s local economy and fight depopulation.
The Problem
Rural depopulation had a strong negative impact on Fundão. The historic urban center was abandoned, and the local economy struggled.
The Process
- Rebuilt and restored abandoned and dilapidated buildings in the city’s urban center
- Repurposed a pavilion to become the Fundão Business and Shared Services Center
- Renovated a Catholic seminary to create the Fundão Migrations Center that welcomes asylum seekers and international students, providing a link between existing and new residents
- Improved residents’ digital literacy to bring in new job opportunities and modernize the city
- Established the AgroTech Center to develop agricultural technology that improves agriculture’s efficiency and resilience to climate change
- Created an open governance system for community input in decision making
- Established new collaborative projects that brought people, businesses and institutions together
The Impact
- Improved community confidence in local government and built a collective sense of inclusion and ownership
- Enabled the city to be responsive to residents’ needs and collaborate with multiple stakeholders
- Created new job opportunities for residents, improving their financial stability and reducing the cost of living
- Decreased residents’ commute times and costs by increasing the amount of jobs within the city
- Grew the city’s financial base, allowing Fundão to continue to support the program and new projects
- Creates solutions that make agricultural livelihoods resilient to climate change and preserve biodiversity at the AgroTech Center
- Supports Fundão’s farmers
- Led to Fundão’s inclusion in the Strategic Vision for Portugal’s Economic Recovery Plan 2020-2030 as an example of a balanced and inclusive economy
- Recognized as one of nine European Capitals of Inclusion and Diversity
- Collaborated with rural cities in Spain to share strategies with areas facing similar challenges
