Average cities: From population growth to territorial consolidation

Abstract

This article analyzes the demographic evolution of four Alentejo cities throughout the 20th century. We intend to characterize the different types of population growth from the developed relationship between urban and rural areas. We will thus verify to what extent an interdependence is established between the increase of the population size of these medium cities and the consolidation of territorial dynamics expressed in the resuscitation of surrounding spaces, which were headed for a continuous regression.