Socio-geographical and political dynamics in the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon in times of crisis and austerity

Abstract This article, acknowledging the relevance of urban and territorial dimensions for the understanding of the current crisis and its main drives, as well as its effects and socio-political reactions, analyses the recent evolution of the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon in times of economic crisis and austerity policies. The conclusions, grounded on the case of Lisbon but deserving further theoretical building and comparative exploration, highlight: 1) the existence of different phases of the crisis and a correlation among these phases, the austerity policies that have been implemented, and the expansion of the crisis effects to the socioeconomic fabrics at the territorial scale; 2) a growing confrontation between top-down policies and bottom-up socio-political dynamics, that is, an increasingly complex and peculiar geopolitical framework made of multi-scalar divergences, convergences and intersections.

摘要 本文认可城市与地域维度对于理解当前危机及其核心动因、影响与社会政治反应的重要意义，以经济危机与紧缩政策时期的里斯本大都会区（Metropolitan Area of Lisbon）为案例，分析其近期发展演变。本研究结论基于里斯本案例，但有待进一步的理论建构与比较探索，其核心发现包括：1）危机存在不同阶段，且各阶段与已实施的紧缩政策、危机影响向地域尺度下的社会经济肌理的扩散存在关联；2）自上而下政策与自下而上社会政治动态之间的对抗日益加剧，即形成了由多尺度分歧、趋同与交集构成的愈发复杂且独特的地缘政治框架。