ABSTRACT
Reservoirs, lakes, rivers fronts, more than sea fronts already too densified, are at the center of the intervention of a culture that today is stated as urban. Are territories that have awakened the last ten years, an increased interest in environmental, economic and social. The objectives of this research, analyze and evaluate the current urban development approaches in the surrounding of lakes fronts, based on the urban and tourist transformations verified in nine reservoirs: Monte da Rocha, Alqueva, Alvito, Vigia, Montargil, Castelo de Bode, Aguieira, Valdecañas and Abrantes as a special case. The study object of this research is the Alqueva dam. It is intended to build a set of recommendations which may condition future urban and tourist changes in reservoirs environment, while assessing the sustainability of current housing developments already implemented or in the design phase in the surrounding of the Alqueva dam.
