Alvalade (Portuguese pronunciation: [alvɐˈlaðɨ]) is a freguesia (civil parish) and typical quarter of Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal.

Located in central Lisbon, Alvalade is south of Lumiar and Olivais, west of Marvila, east of São Domingos de Benfica, and north of Avenidas Novas and Areeiro.

The designation of Alvalade appears to have its origins in the Arabic name Al Balade, meaning "inhabited and walled place.

The plan proposed an urban design centered around closed-block typologies, bounded by continuous streets, within a relatively non-hierarchical system.

[3] The implementation of this plan involved several architects, each responsible for a segment, resulting in a diverse range of architectural styles.

Embracing this variety turned Alvalade into an experimental site for architecture, showcasing diverse housing proposals while maintaining harmonious control over the overall ensemble.

This culturalist approach integrated existing elements from the past, even those lacking significant architectural character, recognizing their importance to the new construction.

[6] By the 1960s, the final developments in the Alvalade neighborhood focused on detailed studies, aiming to accentuate organic construction and move away from more rationalist options.

The resident population recorded according to Censuses carried over the years is shown in the following tables for the three parishes that today constitute Alvalade.

The former parish of São João de Brito, the last one to be urbanised, still experienced demographic growth in the sixties but managed to lose 11,579 people or 49.68% of its population from 1970 to 2011.

The parish is predominantly catholic and 70.44% of the population aged 15 or above are followers of a Christian or Jeovah's Witness denomination as of 2021.

[13] The presence of minor religions such as Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism (1.63% of the population amongst the three) is probably due to an increasing community of people coming from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or Nepal.

Those coming from countries hosting large Portuguese emigrant communities such as France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg or Belgium (1,114 people) have mostly entered Portugal after 1991 (72.71%), probably due to the development of the Portuguese economy since its accession to the EU.

[20] In the parish of Alvalade are located some of the largest and most prestigious universities in the country, both public and private.

[21] In 2021 the unemployment rate in the parish is considerably lower than the one recorded for Lisbon and for Portugal as a whole, standing at 6.04%.

[22][23] Amongst youth aged 15–24 the unemployment rate in 2021 in the parish stood at 16.01%, 4.59% lower than in the rest of the country.

[33] It is nonetheless important to notice that the value of the rents is quite low because of many contracts stipulated decades ago, with 13.00% (25.34% in Lisbon) of the dwellers paying less than €150/month[34] because of the rent-freezing system that was adopted in Portugal in the late XX century, allowing that many people, now mostly elders, don't have to pay high rents.

[58] The parish is thus actively promoting initiatives aiming at helping people in situation of permanent of temporal homelessness.