"A striking curiosity in the history of this neighborhood is the care taken to guarantee housing continuity for the families who were transferred."

This neighborhood was commissioned by the then Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar, with the aim of housing families displaced from Alta de Coimbra due to the expansion of the University. Initially called Calhabé neighborhood, its construction began on January 30, 1947. In November 1949, the name was changed to Marechal Carmona Neighborhood, in honor of the then President of the Republic who was celebrating his 80th birthday. With the Revolution of April 25, 1974, the neighborhood received the definitive name of Norton de Matos neighborhood, in reference to the republican general.

A striking feature of the history of this neighborhood is the care taken to ensure housing continuity for the families who were transferred. The houses assigned reflected the previous housing conditions: those who lived in a two-bedroom house in Alta received an equivalent one in the new neighborhood, and so on. This detail reflects the commitment to preserving the dignity and stability of the families affected by the urban transformation of Coimbra, reinforcing the humanized character of this urban project that, to this day, maintains its historical and social relevance.