Profile

Email

clarasefair@gmail.com

Science ID

C910-FCDA-58CC

Ciênciavitae

Lab2PT Group

SpaceR - Space and Representation

Scientific Area

Arts - Architecture

Supervision

Andreia Garcia (EAAD/UMinho) Carla Cruz (EAAD/UMinho)

Project Title

Cultivating the common good: participatory action research and spatial practices with the Cerco do Porto neighborhood

Abstract

This research is situated within the field of critical spatial practices and participatory approaches at the intersection of art, architecture, and urban planning, understanding territory as a political and design apparatus for the construction of the commons. Despite the growing recognition of these practices, a gap remains in their systematisation as methodologies for producing disciplinary knowledge in architecture. Through a participatory action research approach developed with children and young people from the Cerco neighbourhood in Porto, the research brings together spatial interventions, artistic practices, and teaching and learning processes in a real-world context. It argues that these practices can be understood as research devices in architecture, capable of producing knowledge with the territory. The research proposes to develop, implement, and systematise methodologies that integrate architecture, pedagogy, and care, resulting in a critical framework applicable to similar contexts and contributing to a redefinition of architecture's role in the collective production of space.

Keywords

Urban commons; Right to the city; Multispecies care; Spatial practices; Participatory action research; Architecture of the territory

Organic Unit

School of Architecture, Art and Design of University of Minho

FCT Reference

2026.06601.BD