Civitas: The Flows of the City
Civitas: The Flows of the City
Curator and moderator: João Seixas
In one of Italo Calvino's beautiful invisible cities, the population of Ersilia establishes relationships and exchanges of the most diverse nature, such as affections, goods and services, knowledge, and politics. The city is not defined solely by its inhabitants or the physical spaces they occupy, but rather by a vast web of relationships. The city is a strong network of millions of ties – fragile ties – because they are human.
What strengthens, or on the other hand, what weakens the ties between the population in a city? What elements and conditions allow for the formation of heterogeneous, dynamic, and tolerant urban communities, especially in the face of the current crisis of urbanism and unequal access to housing and the city itself?
Fátima Vieira, Vice-Rector for Culture at the University of Porto and specialist in utopian studies, and sociologist João Teixeira Lopes, coordinator of Observatório Social de Vila nova de Gaia and Observatório da Arte e Cultura no Ensino Superior.
4 FEB 7:00 p.m.
Urbs: The Body of the City
Patrícia Melo, Salvador Rueda
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What kind of body does a city have? What elements compose it and how does it evolve and transform? Does the way urban spaces and systems are structured affect society, the economy, and the rights of each collective? Faced with these challenges, how can we reorganise urban structures to make daily life more lived and shared?
25 FEB 7:00 p.m.
Civitas: The Flows of the City
Fátima Vieira, João Teixeira Lopes
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The city is a strong network of millions of ties – fragile ties – because they are human. What strengthens, or on the other hand, what weakens the ties between the population in a city? What elements and conditions allow for the formation of heterogeneous, dynamic, and tolerant urban communities, especially in the face of the current crisis of urbanism and unequal access to housing and the city itself?
11 MAR 7:00 p.m.
Polis: The Politics of the City
Paola Viganò, João Ferrão
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What new public spaces and vehicles of representation, social action, and political affirmation are needed for the cities of the future? A debate with architect Paola Viganò and geographer João Ferrão.
25 FEB 2026
WED 19:00
Free admission*
Duration 2h
*By pre-booking or collecting your ticket 15 minutes before the event (limited to the venue's to capacity).
On the day of the event, pre-bookings that have not been collected will be made available 15 minutes before the start of the event.
For personal reasons, Richard Sennett will be unable to attend. The conference will feature the participation of sociologist João Teixeira Lopes, who will contribute to this conversation based on his work and career.
BIOGRAPHIES
Fátima Vieira is vice-rector of the University of Porto for cultural affairs. She was director of the Department of Anglo-American Studies and president of the Utopian Studies Society / Europe. She has coordinated scientific projects and conferences in the areas of literary utopias and utopian thought, as well as in the fields of the future of food and the language of the future. She is director of the New Library of Utopias collection.
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