Urban Cultural Intervention

Recommended Prerequisites

Not applicable.

Teaching Methods

Primarily a case- and project-oriented course (case-study and discussion centered) where students work independently and in small groups. Seminars will discuss and critique readings and projects; relate theory, practice, and planning/policy; and enable group discussion of questions and issues. Guided visits to urban cultural intervention sites will be incorporated, with students (in small groups) preparing brief reflexive reports following each visit. A final essay will permit students to specialize in a particular topic within this field and conduct further investigation of particular issues of interest that are most relevant to them.

Learning Outcomes

Featuring case presentations by CES researchers working on relevant topics, socio-cultural agents, and members of the local cultural/creative sector, in this course students will: interconnect theory and practice concerning artistic and socio-cultural urban interventions; become knowledgeable about methodologies for participatory cultural mapping and community-centered artistic, architectural, and sociological interventions; and identify and reflect on options for connecting urban interventions with cultural planning approaches.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

This course brings together lecturers and students from various backgrounds in interdisciplinary discussions to examine the concepts and range of practices involved in urban cultural interventions. It critically considers how the interrelated dimensions of artistic socio-cultural practices, public art, urban space, community-engaged participatory approaches, and citizen agency interact in urban contexts. It engages students in practical case studies of cultural interventions in urban contexts, and investigates the methodological approaches and challenges of achieving meaningful and effectual outcomes of urban cultural interventions. The course examines conceptual and operational issues surrounding the relationship between urban cultural interventions and cultural and urban planning/policy.

Head Lecturer(s)

Maria Paula Abreu Pereira da Silva

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Research work: 50.0%
Synthesis work: 50.0%

Bibliography

The following references provide a beginning point, to be augmented by additional works and resources.
Carvalho, C. P. (2017). Community intervention in urban areas: A youth driven initiative. Action Research, 19(2), 146-160. DOI:10.1177/1476750317700502
Cohen, P. and Duggan, M. (Eds.) (2021). New Directions in Radical Cartography: Why the Map is Never the Territory. London: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing.
Costa, P., Guerra, P. and Neves, P. S. (Eds.) (2017). Urban Intervention, Street Art and Public Space. Lisbon: Urbancreativity.org.
Costa, P. and Pavoni, A. (Eds.) (2017) Special dossier: Art Time City on the temporality of urban interventions. Cidades, comunidades e territórios, no. 34. https://journals.openedition.org/cidades/379
Currie, M. and Correa, M. M. (2021). Tangibles, intangibles and other tensions in the Culture and Communities Mapping Project. Cultural Trends, DOI: 10.1080/09548963.2021.1910491.
Duxbury, N., Garrett-Petts, W. F. and Longley, A. (2019). Artistic Appro