Infrastructures and urbanisation on the south bank: 19th and 20th century Almada

Abstract

In the 19th century a connection between the two banks of the river was developing, although roads on the south bank were not. Urbanisation in the area was still in its early days. The demographic pressure on Lisbon and the installation of the Arsenal and the Naval Base at Alfeite, at the turn of the 1940s, led central power to decide on the urbanisation of the Almada area. This decision meant some problems that would be difficult to resolve, as basic infrastructures were either insufficient or even non-existent.