Voices in the revolution: resisting territorial stigma and social relegation in Porto's historic centre (1974-1976)

Abstract

This article tries to broaden the research agenda on territorial stigmatisation. It reviews sometheoretical arguments on the relevance of a relational sociological reading of the processes ofterritorial stigmatisation, and proposes a study of these processes during a period of politicalrevolution and social instability, through discussion of the case presented by the city of Porto,Portugal, in the mid-1970s. Based on the study of institutional archives, ethnographic work inseveral neighbourhoods, and semi-structured interviews with social actors involved in theseprocesses, the article describes the urban and housing conditions of inner city Portos workingclassboroughs in the first three quarters of the 20th century and discusses the forms of politicaland social resistance taken up by residents from the most dilapidated neighbourhoods followingthe revolution of April 1974. The sociological analysis of the actions that gave origin to the voiceof the residents in the historic centre of the city in this period reveals significant interaction withthe processes of territorial stigmatisation, via organised collective resistance.