Coimbra puts the focus on urban resilience this Friday and Saturday

A free festival featuring everything - from debates to instameets

What is the true meaning of a ‘city’? A question that surely gives plenty of material to ponder upon. Such reflection on contemporary and major urban issues will take place during the 1st edition of the Resilient Cities Festival, an initiative taking place in Coimbra (Portugal), on 16 and 17 July.

The festival intends to discuss, with amplitude and plurality, the meaning of cities, their sustainability and regeneration and how they can be designed for the following generations. Coimbra, due to its particular geographic situation - a city with both urban and rural identities - is the right point for rethinking the concept of city in 2021.

What should visitors and viewers expect?

The organizers from the Municipality are promoting this as a free event which will be available for viewing online (www.cidadesresilientes.pt) or to attend it in person.

This afternoon, the discussion focuses on the consequences of the pandemic for the city and, also, on the urban economies of the future. New professional dynamics, new education models, the reformulation of the transport platform and the issue of housing (a constant challenge for young people) are some of the highlights.

The second day, 17 July, will address issues such as urban planning and sociology. We can highlight here the debate on the need for resilient cities to constantly reinvent and adapt. The importance of regeneration and sustainability, namely in the field of environmental health, the citizenship of the future and how the virtual field can impact the construction of cities where we all want to live, will also mark the debates of the last day of the Festival.

Still, do not think that this will be just an event for philosophers and high concept discussions, as important as these are. Parallel to the debates, the city of Coimbra will be invaded by a set of masterclasses, workshops and interviews that will take place in various points of the city's local businesses. The streets will also be occupied by poetry sessions. And the special treat will be the so-called instameets, during which local social media influencers will help you discover the city’s more hidden nooks and crannies.