Health impacts of direct displacement in a context of housing crisis and transnational gentrification: findings from Porto, Portugal

Abstract

Direct displacement of low-income, long-time residents has long been considered a key feature of gentrification. It has also been linked to adverse health impacts. Like elsewhere, Portugal is facing a “housing crisis”. Housing costs have soared, and home renters face significant pressures. Exacerbating this, Portuguese cities like Porto and Lisbon are undergoing transnational gentrification processes, driven by their increasing international attractiveness to tourists and other transient users and the financialisation of housing. This extends the risk of direct displacement; however, its health impacts are yet to be assessed. We conducted a qualitative study about the health consequences of direct displacement related to the housing crisis in Porto. Conceptualising direct displacement as a multistage process, we conducted in-depth interviews with nine displaced renters, and three renters undergoing the process but not yet removed from the household. We then performed a deductive-inductive qualitative content analysis of the interview transcripts. Results show that the direct displacement risk in places undergoing transnational and tourism gentrification extends beyond disadvantaged social positions; however, its consequences are especially severe for vulnerable people. They also reveal different ways through which direct displacement affects health. It unleashes an emotional shock, disrupts home and ontological security and leads to residential alienation. It may impact health even when displaced households find higher-quality housing. These findings underscore the urgent need for broad, affordable housing and anti-displacement policies to mitigate the socially unequal health impacts caused by displacement.