Toward an Automated REOT: A Conceptual Planning Support System for Territorial Monitoring in Portugal

Abstract

Territorial planning in Portugal requires the regular preparation of State of Territorial Planning Reports (REOT) to evaluate the implementation of spatial planning instruments. However, these reports are traditionally produced as static documents, limiting their effectiveness as decision-support tools. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for the dynamic generation of REOT through the integration of official spatial and administrative data within a Planning Support System (PSS). The proposed architecture combines rule-based logic, automated indicator calculation and interactive dashboards to support the on-demand production of continuously updated planning information while preserving the possibility of data aggregation and harmonisation at municipal, regional and national scales. To complement the conceptual framework, the paper presents the Cascais Experience, a pilot implementation developed within the Municipality of Cascais. Although not constituting a Dynamic REOT, the pilot demonstrates the feasibility of integrating municipal administrative data into a dynamic urban planning dashboard capable of automatically producing planning indicators and supporting on-demand monitoring. The experience also provides valuable insights into the practical challenges associated with data integration, information standardisation and indicator development. The framework is developed within the Portuguese legal and institutional context, recognising that current monitoring practices are implemented independently by each municipality, often using heterogeneous methodologies that hinder territorial comparability and multi-level analysis. The pilot implementation demonstrates that the principal barriers to dynamic territorial monitoring are organisational and informational rather than technological, highlighting the importance of data governance and administrative information management. The findings support the transition from episodic reporting towards continuous, data-driven territorial monitoring and provide a scalable framework for the future development of Dynamic REOT systems in Portugal and other planning contexts.