A Future Place
in Lisbon

Bairro Padre Cruz is located in Carnide, one of the largest parishes in the North of Lisbon, consisting of 13 neighbourhoods with a total of 22,415 inhabitants (Censos Data 2011). The Padre Cruz neighbourhood is the one that houses the largest number of people, about 6,468 inhabitants.

Despite its history marked by a relevant heritage, this area north of Lisbon was until a few years ago, and for many centuries, a predominantly rural area, having only been integrated into the urban perimeter at the end of the 19th century. Today, the parish is often described as a “territory of contrasts marked by an enormous socio-cultural and human diversity, with small 'islands' scattered and disjointed both from a functional view point and from an urban point of view”.

These contrasts are at the origin of several problems that are difficult to solve, whether in terms of urban planning, housing and qualification, etc., or from the point of view of socio-cultural intervention. The coexistence of populations with a high level of education and strong purchasing power, with socially disadvantaged groups, is a reason for political and social tensions. These asymmetries have given rise, in the last decade, to several urban and cultural interventions by the Lisbon City Council and other socio-cultural agents, with the aim of rescuing some of the most problematic areas of the Parish. Bairro Padre Cruz is one of those areas, where an urban rehabilitation plan is underway.

Activities

“A Future Place” includes several creative and learning activities:

a. An award-winning poetry and prose contest (e.g. using different media: image, sound, written, etc.), aimed at all residents of the Padre Cruz neighbourhood, and to be disseminated with the help of local associations, parish councils, schools and libraries, among others. The contest - under the theme "My neighbourhood... my place", seeks to involve different generations of people with connections to the neighbourhood, past or present.
b. In-situ collecting of oral stories, memories, and expectations from the population in the neighbourhood.
c. The production of an intergenerational cultural event – “A (Memory) Future Place” - with a final presentation of the winners of the competition and the staging of award-winning poems (e.g. theatre and/or declamation, etc.) and other works performed, involving the participants of the contest themselves and/or a theatre group (to be confirmed). The performance may also include videos and photos collected by PhD or Master Students. This final activity will engage, if possible, three generations of inhabitants of the neighbourhood Bairro Padre Cruz (e.g. children, young adults and elder people), as well as cultural associations and institutions, and university students, and aims to create intergenerational community by activating the public space around the neighbourhood.
d. Workshops for creative writing, photography, animation and sports leadership techniques. The workshops are the prizes for the participants of the poetry and prose contest and must be attended by the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, and by the competitors who can choose one of them.

Objectives

a. To develop and apply placemaking practices, and to accomplish the proposal based on the ideas and concepts of memory, oral stories  and experience of a changing neighbourhood;
b. To encourage and implement creative activities in the neighbourhood through a poetry and prose contest, as well as promoting later cultural activities based on arts (e.g. Literature, theatre and music, etc.), to be carried out in Bairro Padre Cruz by its inhabitants, academics and artists.
c. To encourage and implement academic research and knowledge exchange, involving students, researchers, teachers and other professionals;
d. To encourage and implement cultural exchange between neighbours: children, young people (from the AmigLuz Association) and the seniors with whom the association also has connections;
e. To contribute to blur the isolation of people and communities, as well as filling the lack of human contact and the desire of living together in public spaces, both substantially reduced due to restrictions and confinement measures.
f. To enhance the memories and life experiences of young adults and seniors and the expectations of young people and children related to the neighbourhood space.
g. To better understand the social and cultural problems of the neighbourhood and to help communities to better know each other by sharing memories, stories, and hopes. Younger ones will learn about the past of the neighbourhood from elder ones; all together they will help each other to map the future of the neighbourhood.