‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts’ is the Aristotelian principle on which the author bases this text on Portuguese urbanism. The geographical scope is that of the regions of the world with Portuguese cultural influence and, in chronological terms, it focuses on the 1st Empire (Modern Age, from the Pearl River in China to the River Plate in South America), without ruling out medieval antecedents and extensions in the 2nd Empire (from the Age of Revolutions to decolonisation in 1975, focusing on the African colonies).
Beginning with a brief but critical overview of the rich evolution of Portuguese urban historiography, with a special focus on urban planning, the author concluded that its development had slowed down, with works centred on traditional urban morphology, i.e., focused on little more than the two-dimensionality of the urban plan. In an attempt to overcome this impasse, the author formulates a question that, because it demands knowledge that extends far beyond the characteristics of Portuguese and Portuguese-influenced city plan patterns, requires a change in method and focus. Although the cases and even the sources are necessarily the same, the tools are not. Next, according to a mosaic of seven components that he so suggestively and ambiguously considers ‘evidence of contact,’ he attempts to begin answering, clearly leaving open the challenge of its development and expansion in subsequent works.