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The analysis of urban planning and of the rehabilitation of Portugal’s architectural and urban historical heritage over the past fifteen years demonstrates a clear intensification of local processes aimed at preserving and enhancing historical sites. Three trends in particular are evident. The first is the effort to gain official recognition of world heritage sites. In addition, we note the spread of international methods of urban management. Finally there is a tendency towards excessive "packaging" or esthetic presentation of public spaces. Taking as examples the historic centers of four Portuguese cities, (Coimbra, Guimarães, Porto, and Santarém) this article seeks to analyze the specificities of thèse policies with a view to understanding their experimental nature and to assessing the cultural sustainability as well of the policies themselves as of the urban centers that are their objects.