Madalena is experiencing record-breaking growth. Driven by a rising population and a strong local economy, the municipality has seen licensing requests and other urban-planning operations surge to unprecedented levels in 2025. The increase has already forced the local government to overhaul internal procedures to speed up processes and improve efficiency across departments.

Between January and November 2025, the Madalena Municipal Council received 140 licensing requests—the highest number ever recorded and twice the total submitted in 2024, when 79 applications were filed.

The Division of Public Works, Urban Services, and Urban Planning also reports sharp increases across various types of requests, including certificates and declarations, applications for works exempt from prior control, complaints, and prior information requests (PIP).

For Madalena’s mayor, Catarina Manito, the numbers confirm the municipality’s exceptional momentum:

“Madalena is now a benchmark in the Azores. Over the past decade, we’ve been the fastest-growing municipality in the Region, with historic demographic expansion. According to the latest Census, we also recorded the biggest increase in housing units for residential use in the entire country.”

Still, Manito stresses that rapid growth brings new challenges:

“This development, which fills us with pride, also demands adjustments. It makes it essential to rethink and reorganize services and procedures, streamlining workflows to boost operational efficiency and better meet the needs of our entrepreneurs and community. Only then can we ensure sustainable, long-term growth for our island.”

From Press Release.

Translated into English as a community outreach program by the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL), in collaboration with Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno. PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.