Stories of eviction and resistance: Being elderly in the centre of Lisbon

Abstract

The processes of touristification of Lisbon's central neighbourhoods have generally emerged in the wake of neo-liberal public policies, which have turned the city into a place of capital reproduction attractive to the movements of transactional finance. In this context, Lisbon changed its image and witnessed a deep transformation of its socio-economic fabric. While losing its social function, housing became a financial asset and many family dwellings, especially in the historic city centre, began to be used to support the tourist economy. To make this possible, and under the New Urban Lease Law of 2012, part of the resident population was evicted, directly or indirectly, from their houses. Other residents face various difficulties in remaining there, being victims of real estate bullying, while witnessing the profound transformation of their areas of residence into tourist and/or elite sites, where services are aimed at a passing public and/or with high economic resources with the consequent exclusion of traditional residents. This population, in many cases vulnerable and of scarce economic resources, including a significant percentage of people aged 65 and over, considered to be elderly. Both evictions and cases of resistance are difficult to quantify and study. Because they are so often ignored and forgotten, we aim to acknowledge the impacts that the major changes in Lisbon’s central neighbourhoods had on the elderly population. For this research, we conducted interviews with key local actors (i.e., residents, local associations, and municipalities). By turning this phenomenon into a visible one, we expect to contribute to the development of a large discussion, which has to include the perspectives and proposals of all actors involved, so that fair public policies that enable a more excellent socio-territorial balance can be produced.