Suchergebnisse

AbstractThis article examines Lisbon's post‐crisis transition from a once dominant process of suburban expansion enabled by abundant credit to one of ongoing gentrification of its historic centre. In my research, I draw on quantitative and qualitative data to illustrate the remarkable growth of the metropolitan area's population and dwelling stock until the global financial crisis—which affected the Portuguese economy in the course of a process of financialization that relied heavily on the housing industry—and the intensity of urban rehabilitation in subsequent years. However, there is evidence that the latter has not halted nor reduced the loss of long‐term residents in the historic centre, as tourists and other international gentrifiers occupy the upgraded dwelling stock amid an escalation of house prices and rents. The specific contribution of this research lies in the link that it establishes between Lisbon's ongoing process of inner‐city gentrification and the lack of suburban expansion after 2007. By showing that the credit crunch triggered a shift in the geographic location of real‐estate capital that materialized in a new urban development model, this research adds an empirical layer to the study of the spatial effects of the crisis and contributes to the literature on the subsequent restructuring of southern European housing markets.

UID/SOC/04647/2013 ; The adoption of the euro accelerated the dependent financialisation of the Portuguese economy, which remained structurally backward despite its integration into global finance. The flow of foreign credit towards the real estate, infrastructure, and construction sectors since the mid-nineties fueled the suburban expansion of Lisbon and the abandonment of its historic centre until the crisis of 2008. After the collapse of that model of urban development, Lisbon's historic centre became a space of opportunity for global real estate investment offering high profitabilities in the international short-term-rental and premium markets. With thousands of abandoned dwellings and tenants paying very low rents, the rent gap of the historic centre was enormous. Since many residents of that territory were tenants paying controlled rents, it became necessary to change the lease regime in order to rapidly and easily evict them and let investors engage in the transformation of the area. The new urban lease regime liberalised the rental market and triggered the actualisation of rents above the capacity of many tenants in a context of rising demand for rental housing and strong austerity policies ―and evictions multiplied. The non-regular resident tax regime was implemented by the Portuguese government to attract foreign high-skilled professionals and pensioners. Under this special regime, foreign citizens benefit from a reduced flat personal income tax rate of 20% and any pension income generated abroad is totally tax exempt ―even when not taxed in the country of origin. As a corollary, housing supply for conventional use has dropped significantly and prices have increased dramatically in the historic centre as tourist apartments proliferate and foreign investors multiply. Urban regeneration fuelled by tourism and international investment has not stopped the loss of residents in this area, while the impossibility for many locals to find affordable housing there constitutes a worrying outcome of Lisbon's ...