Paper short abstract:

A discussion will be made of how anthropological research on the mutual constitution of place and people in a migrant squatter settlement in Greater Lisbon transforms and is transformed by multidisciplinary research meant to have an impact on a public initiative for urban regeneration.

Paper long abstract:

The paper deals with urban regeneration in a migrant squatter settlement located in the area of Greater Lisbon, where many inhabitants are originally from Cape Verde. There is a spatial dimension in the current construction of Cape Verdean identities in Portugal, specifically in what regards labor migrants and their descent, which are in important ways associated to particular bairros of Greater Lisbon. However, differently from what occurs with other cultural expressions, which concretize a positive sense of a 'Lusophone multiculturality' (such as music), under the impact of public action towards the legalization of squatter settlements, engagements with self-constructed homes are predominantly dominated by issues of spatial illegibility, over-densification and an unsafe environment. A very concrete consequence of this is a focus on demolitions as way to carry on urban regeneration.

The paper takes issue with an anthropological approach to physical space in relation to the mutual constitution of place and personal subjectivities and considers the engagement of anthropology in action-oriented research aiming at the articulation of criteria for public intervention that may challenge a dominant focus on urban regeneration as the abstract conformation to legal norms. Additionally, it aims to provide a concrete example for discussing how such an engagement may transform anthropology.