Globalization and urban modernization

Abstract

"Globalization: Long-Term Perspectives" was the topic of the XXVII Encontro de la Associaçao Portuguesa de Història Economica e Social that took place in Lisbon during the 16 and 17 November 2007. In this conference there was an specific session dedicated to the comparison of several aspects of Lisbon and Barcelona's development. The questions dealt tried to debate the role of of Lisbon and Barcelona in the globalization process, the way in which both cities were afected by the process and the role of these cities in the process of modernization in more broad terms. This paper constituted the general introduction to that session and had as a goal the contextualization of the working session and to highlight some relevant points to debate. It makes special attention to the process of modernization that took place during the XIXth century and the first decades of the XXth one.