Resumo: The main task of this extended abstract is to discuss the processes of urban transformation and functional specialization through tourism in a certain region. With this purpose the spatial configuration of the municipalities of Albufeira, Loulé and Faro was chosen, as strong points of a touristification dynamic. The Algarve was a peripheral region in the Portuguese context till the 1960´s, mainly dedicated to agriculture, fishing and shellfish gathering and some low mechanized industries of natural products transformation. Following the urban and metropolitan input in Lisbon and Oporto, Algarvian cities started an urbanization process not towards industry, but tourism, creating an urban design and infrastructure suitable for leisure and entertainment. Geographically connected to the Spanish Andalucia where the touristic input started before 1965, the Algarve and its waterfronts became a new touristic territory for tourism travelers. This phenomenon involves a social, economic and cultural context marked by the reception of tourists, a region organized according to their needs, an economic subservience and strong dependence on this particular sector.
