Pátios and Vilas of Marvila e Beato: ways of life from an old motion

Abstract

Marvila and Beato were one of Lisbon’s industrial boroughs. From mid-19th century onwards, these riverfront neighbourhoods were shaped at the quick pace of the industrial production, harbouring thousands of people in search of work, who would also find or make their homes here. In the last decades, the end of the industries as set a new phase for this region, with most of its old units now closed. The pátios and vilas, units of working class housing, have also known some desertification, leaving behind the motion of olden days. Our aim with this article is to keep the accounts of the ways of living in these units, redeemed from old photographs and written sources, but also from the testimonies of those who lived here. From this memorialistic process, we take the general notion that urban landscapes can be valued and regenerate not only by (rightfully) researching their architectural heritage, but first of all, by understanding their social interactions and ways of living, the “social fabric” which holds the built environment.