Lisbon, a changing city
Lisbon was awarded the title of European Green Capital 2020 on June 21st 2018 by the European Commission, in recognition of its urban development towards a more sustainable city for all. So while this does not mean it is Europe’s greenest city, it does mean that it has been implementing some very important changes in recent years. An Expert Panel highlighted that Lisbon is particularly strong in the field of sustainable land use, sustainable urban mobility (transport), green growth & eco innovation, climate change adaptation and waste. The wider city incorporates the Municipality of Lisbon and other municipalities surrounding it, to make up the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. The city’s Green Capital 2020 website is found here.
Also in 2018, the European Commission launched a Call for Action for Sustainable Cities that aimed to create a “green movement” to inspire cities worldwide to become more sustainable and climate-resilient (Related PDF). The following year saw the emergence of such a movement, a global climate movement led by the Fridays For Future school children’s movement, inspired by Greta Thunburg, called Greve Climática Estudantil in Portugal, and the UK based direct action group Extinction Rebellion. A declaration of climate emergency was made by the Portuguese parliament in Lisbon on June 7th after months of heated public meetings, street protests, Live TV shows interrupted, conference interruptions and road blockages. Many of Lisbon’s “Green Movement” criticise the Council’s “Green Capital” label as an act of Greenwashing, due to plans for building the new Lisbon-Montijo airport in an environmentally sensitive area on the southern side of the river after receiving the final green light from the Portuguese Environment Agency in early 2020.
Like many European cities, touristification, gentrification and short-term housing are driving up rents so quickly in Lisbon that many locals can no longer afford to pay and are moving out of their established communities in the city centre’s historical neighbourhoods. Portugal has still the lowest minimum wage in western Europe, even after a recent 6% rise to 635 euros. In late 2019 Barcelona’s Ara.Cat deemed the city “The new capital of gentrification and evictions”. In response, a growing housing movement has been active in stopping evictions, building networks of resistance, holding public assemblies, making a radio station, demanding politicians make change and winning some policy changes. The recent Documentary “What is going to happen here?” paints a vivid picture of the unjust urban change of recent years.
(This short report offers a bit of context from Lisbon, for the recent UrbanA “Community Conversations” event on Tuesday 26th of May: Is Lisbon a sustainable and just city? Perspectives from Europe´s 2020 Green Capital.)
