The project, which is initiated by the Municipality of Moita, is part of a comprehensive urban regeneration scheme targeting disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Portugal. The project will facilitate initiating concrete efforts for improving the quality of life and well-being of the area's inhabitants.
Portugal's Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning Dulce Pássaro announced an investment of €8 million to be divided between several partners in the programme. The "Vale costruir o futuro" project aims to create more dynamic economic activities, to improve urban spaces, to foster social cohesion and to encourage appreciation of diversity.
At the ceremony, the financing agreement for the project was signed, as were the cooperation contracts between the Municipality of Moita, the Cape Verde Solidarity Association and the Vale da Amoreira Centre for Elderly People.
The community of Vale da Amoreira has about 12 360 inhabitants, and the unemployment rate is higher than 55%. The areas' buildings and public spaces are ill-kept and run-down. The Critical Urban Areas programme is innovative in that it actively involves local residents and plays upon local resources. Vale da Amoreira's young and multicultural character is such a resource -- there is a strong artistic potential among the population which the project aims to enlist in revitalising the neighbourhood.
Read more about the project here and here.
Photo: Royal Norwegian Embassy, Lisbon.