It is timely, therefore, to look critically at a history of reclamation as a tool in improving urban space. Macau offers an opportunity to observe reclamation over a long period of time from the first Portuguese settlement in the sixteenth century to today. It also offers an interesting confluence of two cultures each with its distinct urban planning characters. Most of the population lives on the peninsula itself.
Primary industries are tourism, light manufacturing and some trans-shipment of goods from China.
Settled first by the Portuguese in 1557, Macau was a peninsula of approximately 3 sq. There were a few temples and farm houses but the population was sparse. By 1583, a Municipal Senate was formed and in 1586 Macau was designated a City. Places of worship began to be erected almost immediately, with significant churches appearing from 1590 onwards. The earliest map we can find of the city is one published in 1796 by Sir George Staunton.