Paper short abstract:

This paper reflects on the daily sensory environment of a place in transformation, the Mouraria quarter in Lisbon, in order to analyze how urban renewal projects modify, shape or recreate the atmospheres of places and in particular its sound environments.

Paper long abstract:

Under the slogan «redeveloping the past to build the future», Mouraria, one of the oldest, most typical and yet at the same time forgotten quarters of Lisbon, is currently undergoing an ambitious process or urban transformation driven by the City Council. This includes specific actions oriented towards the renewal of its public spaces and the dinamization of the economic, social and cultural life. The plan also seeks to (re)create a new identity for the neighbourhood, for Mouraria has dragged on the stigma of insecurity, poverty, decadence and social exclusion back through the mist of time. A new identity that could serve as a come-on for new residents, visitors and tourists.

Taking as the starting point the idea that the identity of places does not reduce to the material environment but also includes the sounds, smells, voices and faces of the people, this paper seeks to explore the impact of these renewal processes on the everyday sounds and sound environments of Mouraria. More specifically, it seeks to examine how they transform the sensory qualities of places which in turn shape the exclusion and inclusion of certain cultural practices and expressions in the public life.