The housing of the “working classes”. Lisbon’s residence spaces in the late nineteenth century

Abstract

In the late 19th century, Lisbon’s industrial development will enhance the city’s demographic and urban growth. These phenomena  arise from the increase of the “working classes”, namely those related to factory production, but also from the emergence of  housing units with different types. The “patios” and other residential settlements, resulting from the reuse of buildings and spaces  integrated in the pre-existing urban network, incorporated heterogeneous  communities. The “vilas” and “neighbourhoods” of the working-class, because integrated in the factory space or belonging to an industrial owner, housed much more homogeneous  populations. Thus, diverse social and urban spaces appear in the working-class Lisbon of that time. This article, therefore, focuses on identifying the housing spaces of the “working classes” existing in Lisbon in the last decade of the 1800s, analysing its urban  location, the distribution of residents in these areas and their living conditions.