Xentrificación e comunidade artística en Lisboa

Abstract

Lisbon is undergoing a profound and rapid process of urban transformation that began in the immediate wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Driven by a tourism boom and significant offshore investment in real estate, the rehabilitation of the city’s historic centre continues apace, substantially improving its buildings but triggering a massive increase in house prices that is making the city increasingly unaffordable for its inhabitants. In this study we focus on the artistic community, examining how it has been affected by this phenomenon and identifying its perceptions of it. In analysing the establishing of various independent groups in central and more peripheral areas of the Portuguese capital, we posit that the artistic community is first a driver and then a victim of the gentrification of the districts where it settles.