Overview

The ReLeCo CIDATE – Citizen science in understanding and transforming the territory aims at creating opportunities to debate and stimulate an integrated and holistic approach to the use, appropriation, assigned values and management of the territory. CIDATE will produce, process and disseminate knowledge about strategies that act on the territory, in particular, about the construction and production of urban space in the contemporary society. The rationale of CIDATE is supported by citizen science and territorial capacity building, both backed by educational (non-formal) and awareness-raising perspectives. These perspectives are directed towards the creation of territorial awareness and to reinforce the role of education in research and in the construction of knowledge committed to a more sustainable use of territory and its components. CIDATE acts as a forum for the exchange of experiences and knowledge building on expertise shared by its members towards creating structures to foster discussion, enhance synergies and develop new experiences.

CIDATE is intrincaly lnked to the L3EP Experimental Laboratory of Education and Public Space. L3EP is the interface between research performed within CIDATE and the exchange with post-graduate students of Urban Planning students.

Increasing the understanding of land use strategies and land management objectives as well as of processes and mechanisms for the production of the urban space, imply tackling several issues, in adopting of tailored approaches and the development of multiple activities – as for example:

Knowledge and training

• Concept and understanding of territory and space,
• Geographic space, cultural heritage and social memory,
• Planning and land management policies and practices,
• Methodologies for approaching territory and planning, collaborative perspectives,
• Environmental psychology and space anthropology,
• Education and territorial capacity building,
• Right to the city and the imbalance in generational, ethnic, gender, and cultural access to, and use of, territory, in participatory processes and their reflection in the territory and urban environment.

Cohesion and equity

• a governança territorial, a cooperação entre diferentes níveis de governo e planos e/ou segmentos de atores e agentes;
• a sustentabilidade no uso de recursos, combate ao desperdício, promoção da racionalidade e eficiência (cumprimento de objetivos com parcimónia financeira), descarbonização e promoção da economia verde e circular;
• os conflitos de uso dos recursos e meios do ambiente natural (espaço, relevo, vegetação, solo, água, etc.), e os seus impactes negativos (poluição, desperdício, predação, perda de biodiversidade, etc.);
• a solidariedade e equidade territoriais, iniciativas e políticas nos processos de coesão territorial, o apetrechamento dos territórios de capacidades equilibradas que garantam a captação de investimento em tendencial igualdade de oportunidades.

Sustainable management and benefiting from natural resources

• Territorial organisation, rationality and sustainability of resource use,
• Diversity and specificity of the territories, the promotion and use of local potential,
• Changes in the territory and natural environment resulting from policies, economy, culture and society,
• Production and systematization of the natural, built and cultural space,
• Social, cultural and economic dynamics in the construction of territorial values and urban identities.

Coordination

• Carlos Smaniotto Costa
• Nagayamma Aragão

Researchers

• Ana Margarida Tavares de Sousa
• Ana Paulo
• Daniel Maia M. Costa
• Diogo Mateus
• Filipa Lourenço
• Inês Almeida
• Joana Solipa Batista
• José António Oliveira
• Maria João Silva
• Marta Maria Jecu
• Nathália Pamio Luiz
• Pedro Fernandes
• Sandrine Simon
• Sara Lapo
• Sónia Vladimira Correia
• Tiago Duarte

External advisors

• Ina Šuklje-Erjavec – Urban Planning Institute, Ljubljana/Slovenia
• Marluci Menezes – National Laboratory of Civil Engineering, Material Department
• Michal Klichowski – Faculty of Educational Studies, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan
• Monica Bocci – Universitá Politécnica della Marche, Ancona, IT