Podcasting since 2004; Conversations, conflicts, adventures and monologues from around the world.
A few months ago I was invited as a guest on the lunchtime leaders podcast, a program produced by a group of enthusiastic middle school students in Connecticut. Moreso than most interviews I can remember, I had a great time answering their questions, and I really stand by my answers. So I figured to share the link with you, give it a listen and let them (or me) know what you think.
4,000 abandoned buildings in Lisbon, that is what a study found in 2008.
Walking around in 2010, it feels as though with every passing month more businesses are closing, more people are giving up on their deteriorating rental apartment, and that number must now be high above 4,000.
A recent piece written in El País talks about how Lisbon has lost 100,000 people per decade for the last 30 years. The reasons they list include poor condition of public services like schools and hospitals, and the fact that property in Lisbon costs 3 times more than in surrounding municipalities. It is such factors that have landed both Lisboa and Portugal’s second city, Porto, in the EU’s top ten most quickly shrinking cities.
Speaking with neighbors and friends, you hear alot about these factors that led to the vast amounts of abandoned buildings. You also hear the frustration that something more isn’t being done to renovate, restore, or above all – make use of these spaces somehow. Through the eyes of someone who has seen the beauty of Amsterdam’s squat movement, or Copenhagen’s Christiania, there is a lack of creativity is this legendary capital city when it comes to reclaiming abandoned and forgotten spaces.
But what is being done on a small or large scale in Lisbon? And why can’t more be done? Why not get radical and yes, a little crazy, when it comes to policies regarding abandoned property and taking over such spaces from irresponsible and absentee owners?
These questions and more I intend to get answered. Stay tuned.
I’ve been running around the North of Portugal, cities full of history, pride, tradition, and granite!
The thermometer of the attic apartment reads 40.3C. The act of reading the temperature of the tiny digital display no doubt causes more drops of sweat to roll down my forehead. Its almost August in Lisbon and with temperatures like this when no one dares to move too quickly as a matter of health, it is no wonder the entire nation is always several steps behind much of the European Union.
Hours later, when the merciless sun has finally passed behind one of the city’s seven hills, I make my way to the cozy restaurant with wifi, where I always hold court when I am in town. I’m greeted by one of Lisbon’s busiest and kindest restaurant owner-entrepeneurs, my good friend David. He reminds me to make myself at home and I ask how is business, with my best “businesslike” tone. “Really really good actually”, he tells me with an air of satisfaction, “It has already been a great summer business wise.” David looks up motioning towards the upper floors of the building which he rents to tourists for several years now. He clears a few tables and chit-chats with various costumers in French, Spanish, Portuguese, and English, before he finally pulls up a chair to ask me about my journeys and get up to speed with my offline life.
Outside the night air is still hot and people move slowly through the beloved streets of the Bairro Alto. They love to talk about how bad the economy is here, they being my fellow Portuguese citizens. Yet when I look around, I see people everywhere, walking, eating, photographing, talking business on the phone, opening up another bizarre pseudo-clothing shop-bar-club.
Alas I love Lisbon and I was once an urban anthropologist in this town, my hours of study were between 11pm and 6am. But now I am an outsider, observing and enjoying still, but out of touch with what is what for the people of this proud city. Then again, I was probably always an outsider.
Amidst my recent rush to dig for information about what effect world cups and high profile soccer tournaments have on nations, I almost missed a very valuable voice on a recent edition of Radio Open Source.
Who is Vishwas Satgar, I’ll use Chris’s description over at ROS:
Vishwas Satgar is a labor lawyer and leftwing activist, an insurgent ex-Secretary of the South African Communist Party who’s way out of alliance with the ANC on the uplift politics of the World Cup.
In this interesting interview, Satgar talks about the democratic deficit of this World Cup for his country. He gets into the struggles that have intensified in the time leading up to the tournament, by social movements demanding the state meet long promised needs. Specifically he talks about marches for Quality of Education, HIV-AIDS, and anti-privatization – among others, all which have held demonstrations during this high profile event.
Apparently at this very moment there is a national newspaper in South Africa that has gone to court to demand the government be transparent about the total cost of the World Cup. The total might turn out, when the information is finally released, to be around 5 billion dollars. Beyond that, many cities including Johannesburg went way over budget and have spent themselves into massive debt.
There is much more to talk about and be heard in this interview, I recommend you give it a listen of you’re at all concerned about this topic of what does this tournament DO to or for a country.
It is surely an unpopular topic when so much national pride seems to be placed on large international soccer tournaments, but while everyone is high-fiving each other or fuming about their team being eliminated, there is a tremendous cost for all this fanfare. Who bares this cost? How much is it? Why is it so expensive?
Few are brave enough to ask these questions, to question such a loved and long-running tradition is surely a risky dinner conversation. In an era where sustainability is so vital to the future of our existence on this planet, fans don’t seem to care if this applies in the context of the sports. But what if they knew the truth about their beautiful game?
In a future post I will get into South Africa and Germany, the current and most recent host of the World Cup. But since I have a personal connection to the Portuguese republic, I’d like to take you back their massive soccer tournament Euro2004. In this case, not to go back to the highlights of what player did what unbelievable thing, but to go back to what was built, invested, loaned, and promised then as compared to how things are now.
Let’s do it by the numbers:
Ok so that wasn’t just by the numbers. Because beyond the numbers, both the lack of use of these massive structures, and the tremendous cost burden for municipalities who openly want to rid themselves of these problems, indicates that when all is said and done the beautiful game has a financially crippling effect.
Yet the big name sponsors and FIFA would like you to ignore the man behind the curtain. Ignore the elephant in the room. Relax and enjoy the game, everything is fine.
Next up: Germany 2006, perhaps a better case?