Criar Cidade Cooperative
Associate Member / Portugal
Criar Cidade is a cooperative based in Lisbon, founded in 2024, that operates at the intersection of urban research, community work, art and culture, both locally and translocally.
We ‘create city’ with its inhabitants. By centring the experiences, stories and imaginations of people, we work towards a more just and equitable urban environment.
Our approach is grounded in three core pillars: conhecer, referring to collectively learning about our cities; imaginar, meaning radically rethinking our cities; and brincar, which involves reclaiming and taking ownership of urban spaces through art, culture and collective action.
In the absence of a physical base, we collaborate with a range of cultural and community centres in Lisbon and beyond.
- TEH Membership
What makes the organisation unique?
Our members have extensive experience working with communities and territories that are deeply affected by urban inequalities. We connect this research- and community-based knowledge of urban conflicts with practices in art and culture.
We believe in the power of linking diverse local experiences to better understand the dynamics that shape our cities and to co-create tools for learning and action. For this reason, we place a strong emphasis on building translocal collaborations and facilitating learning across different places.