May 16, 2024

Heritages of Portuguese Influence

Leonor Diaz de Seabra e Walter Rossa

Macau emerged as a result of a negotiation and for more than four centuries its governance was shared, which had an impact on the construction of the city, the urban fabric and architecture. The two-headed governance, or "Macao formula", translated into a win-win process for the Portuguese and Chinese governments and the existing multiculturalism allowed for the comprehensive scope of the solutions that were found.

In the 19th century, following the emergence of Hong Kong with a defined political status, Macau was again questioned due to the lack of a formal agreement limiting the territory. The "Macao question" only found an answer following the transfer of sovereignty in December 1999, which made me consider that the absence of borders, negotiation and the comprehensive lens inherent to multiculturality, enabled the existence of a city that was materialising and rebuilding itself permanently, in response to the requests that arose.

Within this "game", it was important to understand whether the strategic vision brought by multiculturality would extend beyond 1999, since one of the interlocutors would no longer be present.

My dissertation argues that multiculturality remains after Macau's return to China, and that new perspectives arise in the framework of the relationship planned at the international level under the Belt and Road Initiative and, at the regional level, in view of the "extension" of Macau to the island of Hengqin, as a key city in the Greater Bay Area.

All these developments translate into a process of urban (re)construction, negotiated with international partners, in which the city's multicultural characteristics are intended to prevail.

Key words: Macao formula; Identity; Multiculturality; Reconstruction