Os perfis territoriais do Algarve: análise sociodemográfica

The spa tial profiles of the alga rve: a sociodemograp hical reading. The paper draws upon sociodemographical changes of the last two decades in the Algarve region. Two main purposes are: to describe and interpret the meaning of these changes and to confront this analysis with recent studies and with the classical definitions of sub regional areas. Using the classical perspectives as a starting point we then present the cluster analysis for 1991 and for 2001. Four territorial profiles are presented which reflect two main trends: urbanization and marginalization. Lastly, we focus on a specific municipality – S o Brás de Alportel – where strong sociodemographical dynamics have been identified despite its inland localization, enabling a more in depth analysis and a discussion of the presented trends.