‘Suburbanism as a Way of Staying Alive’: Reinventing the Rural

This paper will focus on the social transformations that took place in the Portuguese rural space. In particular, we will study the village of Albernoa in the region of Alentejo in Southern Portugal in order to characterize the deep structural social change this place has gone through. In fact, similarly to what has happened to the major rural areas in the region, this village has suffered progressive ageing and continuous depopulation. These tendencies occurred simultaneously with the reduction of several agricultural enterprises and activities. We will also identify some dynamic indicators connected with the increasing spatial mobility (sprawl) and the gradual integration of urban habits. Albernoa is now at the crossroads between urbanization and marginalization. To analyze these changes we will use a multidimensional perspective of the concept of social space, based on the theoretical approach presented by Lefebvre. This author states that space should not be interpreted as a mere receptacle of social relationships. On the contrary, social space is produced daily in concrete places and is grounded in different kinds of practices and social representations. The distinction and consequently the inter-relation between the notions of space and place helps us to dismantle the various mechanisms that make up these complex social exchanges in which the concepts of rural and urban are constantly re-inventing themselves

As desigualdades sociais nos campos: o Alentejo entre as décadas de 30 e 60 do século XX

Este artigo questiona determinadas interpretações sobre a constituição da sociedade rural alentejana que, em nosso entender, exacerbam o grau e o significado da polarização social estabelecida entre a classe dos latifundiários e o estrato largamente maioritário composto pelos trabalhadores agrícolas. Não negando que a oposição entre ricos e pobres é um dos elementos estruturantes das desigualdades sociais nos meios rurais, consideramos que esta não engloba todos os fenómenos sociais que integravam o sistema latifundiário. Tendo por base os dados dos recenseamentos, concluímos que entre os anos 30 e a década de 50 proliferava nos campos um conjunto diferenciado de posições sociais intermédias que não se encaixam no esquema de classificação dicotómico

Da escala ao território: para uma reflexão crítica do policentrismo

Este artigo pretende realizar uma análise reflexiva sobre o conceito de policentrismo, cujos pressupostos orientam grande parte das actuais políticas de ordenamento do território, no sentido de compreender se este representa a resposta mais viável para a resolução dos desequilíbrios regionais do território nacional, nomeadamente os que afectam as zonas que se encontram na encruzilhada da urbanização e da marginalização. Para o efeito, iremos utilizar como contexto de análise os estudos que temos vindo a realizar sobre a região do Alentejo.This article seeks to develop an analytical theory of the concept of polycentrism, the assumptions of which provide the foundations for most of the current land planning policy framework, with a view to analyzing whether polycentrism is the best solution to the regional imbalances in the national territory, in particular those affecting areas that are caught between urbanization and marginalization. Studies we have been carrying out on the Alentejo region will be used for this purpose

Até onde vão os mercados? Contornos de uma sociologia da periferia

Este artigo visa estabelecer uma reflexão crítica sobre um conjunto de dinâmicas recentes que temos estudado em espaços considerados periféricos e predominantemente rurais. habitualmente designados como territórios de baixa densidade, estas zonas padecem de graves problemas demográficos (despovoamento, envelhecimento, etc.) e socioeconómicos (falta de emprego, reduzida iniciativa privada e pública, desmantelamento das funções tradicionais, etc.), que contribuem conjuntamente para uma acelerada marginalização relativamente aos processos de modernização que se desenvolvem nas grandes cidades. no entanto, apesar de serem territórios em perda, observam‑se, ao mesmo tempo, outras densidades menos tangíveis que refletem algum dinamismo social dos seus residentes, como é o caso da capacidade acrescida de mobilidade espacial. tendo por base uma análise relacional entre as zonas rurais e as cidades, propomos desenvolver uma perspetiva sociológica que articule três dimensões fundamentais: as desigualdades sociais, as dinâmicas territoriais e as lógicas de acesso aos mercados e/ou exclusão destes

Between two Worlds: Representations of the Rural and the Urban in two Portuguese Municipalities

In a context of contemporaneousness in which there is little mention of the articulation between urban spaces and those with predominantly “rural” characteristics, we seek to make a contribution towards the “social construction of the rural space” and towards an understanding of the relation spheres and articulation between these spaces and the dynamics of urbanisation. This analysis was conducted within the context of a larger study that used several tools for gathering information (analysis of secondary data, questionnaires and interviews) in seeking to understand the principle recent transformations in the more peripheral and rural areas of the Algarve region. The Algarve is better known, both nationally and internationally, as an attractive tourist destination for those seeking sun and accessible beaches; however, it is also a very diverse region (with mountainous and rural landscapes), and one, moreover, little studied by the social sciences. Here we discuss and problematize social representations of the local space by the residents of two municipalities: São Brás de Alportel and Alcoutim. Based on the results of a study concluded in 2010, we discuss the responses to a survey of 678 residents in both municipalities (the questionnaire was given to a representative sample of residents according to gender and age [2001 Census]), in order to understand their views on the development of their municipality, about the area’s strong and weak points and about the main changes taking place in respect of the (re)composition of the local population. These two municipalities, which are very different despite their geographical proximity, were selected in order to allow an analysis of long-term structural changes; however, here we are particularly interested in discussing some of the exploratory analysis indicators associated with the respondents’ subjective perceptions. The representations by residents of both municipalities are various and contrasting, with asymmetries and diversities between them. This analysis leads us to a conclusion in respect of the limits on the use of conceptions that are naturalist, a priori and which are based on the reification of the spatial characteristics and social practices of social protagonists within rural spaces. It is necessary to devise alternative conceptual tools, ones that take into consideration the relational spaces promoting the dynamics of inter-relationship, diversity and of hybridism that must be incorporated into socio-territorial and multi-scale projects and policies (local base, connected to the national and the international)