CEG/TERRA Researcher Luís Mendes Warns that Gentrification and the Housing Crisis Could Alter Lisbon's Electoral Geography

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CEG/TERRA Researcher Luís Mendes Warns that Gentrification and the Housing Crisis Could Alter Lisbon's Electoral Geography

Luís Mendes, a researcher at the Center of Geographic Studies (CEG) / Institute of Geography and Territorial Planning of the University of Lisbon (IGOT-ULisboa) and a member of the Associated Laboratory TERRA, has warned about the potential effects of gentrification and the housing crisis on the electoral geography of Lisbon in an interview with the newspaper PÚBLICO.

The displacement of residents, particularly young people and lower-income groups, from urban centers, along with rising property prices and rents, could lead to a shift in the electorate and a change in voting patterns. According to a report published by PÚBLICO earlier this year, this housing crisis could provoke a loss of voters in Lisbon, and it may already have an influence in the results of the upcoming municipal elections – read the full article here.

Luís Mendes, a researcher at CEG/IGOT and TERRA member, believes that gentrification may be “pushing the left out of the city”, while keeping a more “intellectual bourgeoisie” in Lisbon that is “more likely to vote for Iniciativa Liberal (Liberal Initiative).”

In the interview with PÚBLICO, Luís Mendes explained that voters will “express their assessment of the housing issue” in this year’s municipal elections. He added that both the PS (Socialist Party), which governed the country from 2015 to 2024, and the PSD (Social Democratic Party), which has been governing Lisbon since 2021, could be negatively affected. “It will be a tough test,” he emphasized.

The full article is available to subscribers at publico.pt.