Where was Lisbon (19th-21st centuries)?

Abstract

The purpose of this text is to identify the extension of the urban space of the city of Lisbon between the early 19^th and the early 21^st centuries, using a methodology that may be homogeneously applied during the whole period under consideration. The approach is based on data from population censuses made during these centuries and information on the transport network of the region of Lisbon during the same period. We identify the area with population of urban density around a central core formed by the city according to its legal and administrative definition; the area where economic activities of an urban nature, that is to say the secondary and tertiary sectors, predominate, around the same central core; and the area served by the public transportation system of the Lisbon region. We conclude that the urban area of Lisbon lived a stagnation period during the first half of the 19^th century, a period of moderate and intensive expansion between mid-19^th and mid-20^th centuries and a period of accelerated and extensive expansion since the mid-20^th century, with significant changes in the distribution within that area.