A Planning Support System for Automated State of Territorial Planning Reports: The Portuguese Context

Territorial planning in Portugal requires the regular production of State of Territorial Planning Reports (Relatórios de Estado do Ordenamento do Território—REOT) to evaluate the implementation of planning instruments. However, these reports are traditionally produced manually as static documents, limiting their timeliness and effectiveness for decision-making. This study presents the development of an automated Planning Support System that enables the dynamic generation of REOT by integrating official spatial and statistical data. The system combines rule-based logic and artificial intelligence techniques to calculate and interpret territorial indicators, producing up-to-date reports on demand. A dashboard-based platform facilitates continuous monitoring of territorial conditions, supporting evidence-based decisions while maintaining institutional oversight and human validation. Application in the Portuguese context demonstrates that the system enhances consistency, transparency, and responsiveness in territorial planning. These results suggest a transition from episodic reporting to real-time, data-driven territorial monitoring, providing a scalable model for other national and regional planning contexts.