A Multidimensional Spatial Framework for Assessing Territorial Resilience Across 86 Municipalities in Northern Portugal

Urban and regional resilience has gained increasing relevance as cities and territories concentrate larger shares of population, economic activity, and exposure to various shocks. This study proposes an integrated framework to evaluate and compare territorial resilience across Northern Portugal, combining quantitative data from 42 indicators spanning five resilience dimensions. Municipal values for each indicator were classified into quintiles, converted into a standardized ranking scale from 1 to 5, and aggregated through GIS spatial operations to produce composite regional resilience maps. The results indicate that Northern Portugal displays moderate resilience, with pronounced spatial disparities. More urbanized and coastal municipalities tend to exhibit higher resilience levels than inland territories. Infrastructural resilience emerges as the weakest, while social resilience achieves the highest performance. By highlighting spatial inequalities and the dimensions requiring targeted intervention, this study offers actionable insights to support evidence-based policies aimed at strengthening territorial resilience in Northern Portugal.