The housing strategies in Portugal, 1880-1940

Abstract

The industrialization and immigration of the rural population, in the second half of the 19^th century, caused a significant rise in the urban population and the search for low-cost housing in the main cities - Lisbon and Oporto. Until the end of the 19^th century, working class housing was built essentially by private promoters and, either in the form of «islands» in Oporto or «pátios» in Lisbon, was characterised by its bad quality. The period that began in 1880, corresponded in Portugal and, in the majority of European countries, to the increased awareness of the housing crisis in the cities and to the drawing-up of strategies to resolve the housing problem of the low-income families, by the public powers. And so, government intervention began in the field of housing, firstly through the passing of legislation, and, already in this century, through the construction of housing, directly by the local and central government. The successive strategies for housing, drawn up during the period between 1880 and 1940, reflect the different ideologies of the political regimes that created them - the monarchy, the republican regime, the New State (o Estado Novo) - and the different economic and social conditions, for which they tried to cater. Housing, built by the state, always represented a small share of the market and was essentially built with political motives. The types of housing that the poorer classes could attain, continued to be precarious and, until today, the informal sector represents an important part of the housing market in Portugal.