Conto Até Mil. Visual Activism Narrative: Fid-Bau Portal

Conto Até Mil. Visual Activism Narrative

Parnisari, Elena

Today’s urban environment is defined by social, political and architectural fragmentation. Groups of different ages and ethnicity occupy the space in diverse patterns and structures. Thus, they take part in its evolution with contrasting involvement and connections. Public spaces have become fragile environments where socio-spatial inequalities affect children and their caregivers most. However, proximity and co-responsibility can still be found inside the neighbourhood unit, made visible through the diverse communities’ actions. Albeit, what is public in the space? Commonly what belongs to everyone, no one takes care of, at least in the south of Europe and almost everywhere outside this continent. Through the implementation of urban diagnostic workshops and the making of a documentary with Roma children and their caregivers, developed at Contumil social housing neighbourhood in Porto, Portugal, the academic research aims to show that neighbours are full participants and learners through action and reflection on the urban environment as a community. Over interviews and footage of daily life in the neighbourhood’s public spaces, we listen and understand the space through the eyes of children and mothers to build knowledge together. We show children’s socialisation and cultures: the relationship between children’s everyday life and the neighbourhood scale. We understand neighbourliness as a collective means of the public space. Thus, we aim at re-framing the communing in the neighbourhood unit through children’s participation in their evolution. This considers the contrasting involvement of community experience and connection in righting the city.