*3.1. Alfama—the Tree as a Point*

The urban fabric of Alfama corresponds to what remains of the old medieval nucleus of the city of Lisbon. This nucleus, also formed by the Baixa and Mouraria neighbourhoods, was until the 1755 earthquake circumscribed to the area within the Fernandina Wall. Alfama thus presents itself as a singular segment of this urban reality, representative of a way of producing the city that results from a gradual and organic process of urban fabric formation and transformation. In other words, it is the physical inheritance of the tension between different individual actions, desires and needs over time.

Developed in a clear adaptation to the topography, the urban fabric results in a composition where private and public spaces are easily recognizable and well defined. This means that urban blocks are defined by the urban layout and, at the same time, they define the boundary and alignment of streets, being densely occupied by housing buildings and occasionally containing gardens and open spaces inside.

The type of urban organization is the result of a way of developing the city that starts from the design of the street, where the urban block is the remaining element in the composition. The urban layout of Alfama is composed of a set of formal and toponymical diverse spaces: streets, alleys, stairways and arches. The structure that integrates them (Figure 4, above) develops mainly from two design logics, one that presupposes a desire to connect the river to the highest point of the slope in the most efficient way, and another, which perceives the singular elements, spaces and buildings, as fabric generators influencing the definition of their form and hierarchy.

Existing planted vegetation is scarce and encompasses mostly trees, such as *Phoenix canariensis, Tipuana tipo* or *Celtis australis*, taking form in sporadic positionings and mainly with a single tree element (Figure 5). Bearing in mind the topography of the place and the stature and volume that these trees may reach, they often constitute landmarks, contributing to orientation and location through their singularity. That is namely the case of the *Phoenix canariensis* that used to be at Largo de São Miguel (Figure 4, below), which died from a palm tree scarab (*Rhynchophorus ferrugineus*) but has been recently replaced with a younger specimen. This sporadic presence of isolated trees in the Alfama structure is also associated with secondary spaces such as bystreets, stairs or even in alleys.

There is also a great density of greenery in pots of various configurations and vegetation of different species that residents place at their front doors or windows, stairs or courtyards, appropriating public space. In some situations, it is possible to find climbing or suspended vegetation that partially covers handrails, arcades or buildings.

**Figure 4.** The sporadic and elemental incidences of the tree in the urban structure of Alfama (above). The case of Largo de São Miguel (below).

**Figure 5.** The diversity of singular trees in Alfama. Photographic source: Sérgio Proença (above) and Formaurbis LAB (below).
