History of ULisboa

 

 

 

The Universidade de Lisboa  (ULisboa) founded on July 2013 has been the result of a merger process between the former Technical University of Lisbon  (UTL) and the University of Lisbon (UL). ULisboa extends the continuity of both institutions recognized scientific and cultural traditions.

 

As a privileged space of science and knowledge, the ULisboa is today, one of the major institutions of Higher Education in Europe and one of  the leading University in the country.

 

ULisboa is deeply involved with Portuguese society and with Lisbon Metropolitan Area. So we cannot dissociate ULisboa from the city where it is situated – Lisboa.

In 1288, the first Portuguese University was established in Lisbon. In 1537, the University was transferred to Coimbra. From the late eighteenth century, higher education was reestablished in the capital, Lisbon.  With the first Republic ,  in 1911,  University of Lisbon was born and, later on, in 1930, was founded, the Technical University of Lisbon , both resulting from more than seven centuries of history. History that was heritage by the ULisboa .

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lisbon is the capital and the largest city of Portugal. With over 20 centuries of History, this city located on the 7 hills has more than 500,000 inhabitants.

 

Lisbon shows multiple contrasts between the historical and modern, combining different cultures, trends and lifestyles. Situated near the Tagus river and sunny almost all the time, the Portuguese capital has a unique beauty and an internationally acclaimed architectural singularity.

Rich in monuments, neighborhoods (Baixa Pombalina, Belém, Bairro Alto, Chiado, Bica, Alfama and Mouraria), riverside zone, Fado houses, parks, gardens and viewpoints, Lisbon offers various possibilities to discover, so visit and enjoy the vast natural, historic and cultural city heritage.

 

Landmarks such as the Medieval Castle of St. George, Medieval Cathedral, Belem Tower, Jeronimos Monastery, National Pantheon, Palace Square and the Downtown are some of the tourist attractions of Lisbon that fascinate thousands of visitors from around the world.

 

The gastronomy of Lisbon is very influenced by its

proximity to the sea. So typical specialties in Lisbon are fried cod, fried green beans, and grilled sardines on bread (mainly in the feast of the popular saints that occurs during the month of June). The famous Bife à Café is also considered a capital’s “ex-libris” food. The most famous dessert in Lisbon is the traditional Pastel de Nata (custard tart), made in a former factory in Belém, better known as Pastel de Belém.

 

 

Universidade de Lisboa (ULisboa) promotes, every year, several cultural activities like, exhibitions, concerts, conferences, seminars, among others.

The “Aula Magna” is a cultural reference hall, in Lisbon, which for its versatility hosts national and international remarkable events, such as shows and concerts.

Artistic events organized by choirs, student associations, academic music groups, and theater groups, amongst others, also actively contribute to promote the academic and cultural life in ULisboa.

 

 

 

Neo-bohemia and the post Industrial neighborhood

 

 

 

 

 

Bohemians can be defined as ‘inner city sub-cultural vanguard groups’ as stated by Sam Binkley in his article The Bohemian Habitus: New Social Theory and Political Consumerism. In Neo–Bohemia: Art and Neighbourhood Redevelopment in Chicago, Richard Lloyd defines Neo-Bohemia as the relation between spatialized social practices and their post industrial\post-fordist (since the late 20th century) environment.

 

Post industrialization refers a society where economic value is attributed to services rather than goods.  Within this, Bohemian cultures have emerged through evolved sets of relations between relative individuals and neighbours.

 

‘In the setting of the post-industrial city, the different appropriations of space have emerged from the temporary, fluid aggregations established among various social connections (Bauman, 1995, 2000, 2004) or, in other words, flowing from these aggregations are various inter-personal choices and desires.’

 

Postmodern city, gentrification and the social production of fragmented space.

 

Bohemian presence in a city has proved fruitful to its economy. A good example would be the correlation between the bohemian index in Florida and the cities technology in places such as San Francisco which has high numbers of bohemian culture, while in Lisbon, bohemianism has contributed to the tourism sector.

 

One of the first accounts of Bohemianism in Portugal dates back to the days of Dom Fernando (King of Portugal after Queen Maria II’s death in1853) who was termed as ‘the artist king’, due to his devotion to bohemian pastimes rather than more serious affairs of the state. However, he had a significant hand in the nations architectural heritage.

 

Mendes, L. (2011); defines gentrification as ‘the movement of affluent, usually young, middle-class residents into run-down inner-city areas.’ This usually leads to an upgrade of the area with property rehabilitation that may force already established residents out to due to higher costs of living. Barrio alto is a good example of this where new residents have moved in and changed the social fabric of the area. These residents have brought about and/or exposed bohemian culture in the area, such as the street art, as a major tourist attraction in the city.

The current state of its streets comes from these Bohemian cultures along with established stylistic and mechanical architectural.

‘The process of gentrification in the area (Barrio Alto) grew during the 1990s and 2000s when the city of Lisbon hosted three major events, the European Capital of Culture in 1994, the Expo World Fair in 1998 and the UEFA Eurocup in 2004.’

 

These events brought about large urban changes to the city, thereby facilitating the middle class to return to the inner city and Lisbon’s first meaningful tourist influx.

 

Development in Lisbon has evolved significantly since the economic downfall in 2008, where many residents fell into poverty & were forced to find alternative ways to gain capital, and recent studies show the poverty line has gone up. Some of these alternatives involve Lisbon’s art culture, from the fine to street art. One of the best examples of this in our age is through English graffiti artist Bansky’s book ‘wall and piece’, which sold for thousands of dollars at Sotheby’s, one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art. The most interesting aspect of his book is how it covered his graffiti street artwork and ended up being sold at a fine art museum.

 

‘Yet the oppositional quality and aesthetic self-awareness that shape the bohemian disposition run deeper than its professional incorporation. It is one that persists in many aspects of everyday life, perpetuated in a deeply internalized, intuitively felt way of getting by — what we might call a ‘bohemian habitus.’

 

The Bohemian Habitus: New Social Theory and Political Consumerism

 

The ‘habitus’ according to French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, Is a ‘pre-reflexive set of generative categories organizing everyday practice.’ This habitus is continuously changing while people become more open to their self-awareness.

Street art and relative creative ventures in urban spaces include forms of expression; they are not only seen in visual forms but also in performance. This evolution, along with larger macro-social aspects like privatization of the corporate sector, moves society away from production of goods to that of a more cultural and allegorical production.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lisbon’s industrial revolution can be dated back to the contribution of King João V (1706-50), who utilized imported gold and diamonds from brazil to build the city. 20,000-50,000 people worked to create projects like the Palace, Monastery and Basilica. Several architects involved stayed on for reconstruction after the 1755 earthquake, one of who was Manuel da Maia, whose ‘six plans’ acted as a blueprint for the cities layout. This plan involved rebuilding the city to its prior form, and utilized other architects’ inputs for improvement, such as earthquake-proof structures. Concurrently, the streets layout was uncommon to the ‘organically patterned’ layout before the earthquake. Their new ‘grid-iron’ design was supposedly implemented due to the preference of the state. Like a way to declare a new order, attributed to various ideals such as those from French military engineer Sébastien Vauban, notions of the law of the Indies, and the Roman Castrum.

 

Postindustrial Lisbon has undergone several social and economic changes, most notably, losing hold of their colonial posts like as Brazil, Angola and Guinea, and the military takeover of 1975. This era has thus far, been an uneven period for the artists and creatives of the, primarily due to the influence of the Ministry of Culture (MoC), implemented in 1995, whose role was to preserve Portuguese heritage through language and craft. As time went on, more and more focus was given to the artists and their institutions, however, the ministry was dissolved back in 2011. Jorge Xavier Barreto, former director general of the MoC, spoke of how the country didn’t have a lot of money for the arts, relating the countries ‘young democracy’ to the more than 40% of citizens who were still illiterate by 1974, thereby insinuating more funds were allocated to language policies. This capital constraint, amplified by the 2008 financial crisis, led to the ministry’s collapse, consequently forcing artists to look for alternative ways to gain income due to lack of support.

 

In Barrio Alto, areas such as Principe Real and Santa Catarina were being developed and modernized, bringing about grandiose apartment homes. Some of these came from Italian influences with balustraded balconies and neoclassical window frames.

 

Nightlife activities after the Revolução dos Cravos in

 Barrio Alto can be attributed to the Lisbon City Council, who in the 80s facilitated the nightlife industry as an instrument for urban marketing. A current illustration of the districts nightlife can be seen within the so-called ‘Erasmus Corner’ was once a dangerous spot in the city, transformed by foreign college students into a trendy nightlife spot. Erasmus students have grown considerably within the last decade in Lisbon. They convergence is partially due to Lisbon’s more recent urban developments, and good weather. The lack of Erasmus grants means most of the students are privately funded, handing them the term of ‘migratory elite’ in the city. Their effect on the housing market brought about ‘studentification’ to the central districts in the city, and an increase in tourism.

 

 

 

References;

 

 

Mendes, L. (2011); Postmodern city, gentrification and the social production of fragmented space

 

L. Richard (2002); neo-bohemia: art and neighborhood redevelopment in chicago

 

M Coelho (2016); City Making & Tourism Gentrification Lisbon

 

B. Sam (2008); The Bohemian Habitus: New Social Theory and Political Consumerism

 

J. Malcolm (2007); Lisbon City of the Sea A History

 

C. Daniel Malet, N. Jordi & G. Miguel (2016); The Erasmus Corner: place-making of a sanitised nightlife spot in the Bairro Alto (Lisbon, Portugal)

 

R. M. John (1992); The reconstruction of Lisbon following the earthquake of 1755: a study in despotic planning