HOUSING, HOUSEHOLD, AND THE FAMILY - THE ILHAS OF PORTO AT THE END OFTHE 19TH-CENTURY

At the end of the nineteenth century, with the spread of urban growth and industrial activity mainly the textile sector-the building of hous ing settlements ('ilhas') for the working classes developed in Porto, the most important city in the north of Portugal. These 'urban communi ties' played an important socio-historical role in the socialization o f the newly arrived workers, and created family behaviors and strategi es grounded in the formation of young couples and neighborhood kin tie s. This family structure adjusted to the cottage industry system, in w hich the simple family embodies the work group, prevailing in Porto at that time.