Collective research project
Iñigo Sánchez-Fuarros (PI), Salwa Castelo Branco, Daniel Paiva, et al.
2018-2022
This three-year FCT-funded project explored the impact of tourism on everyday urban public environments, with special attention to sonic dimensions. Using Lisbon’s dramatic rise as a premier tourist destination as its backdrop, the research examined how tourism reshapes the sensory experience of urban spaces.
The project approached the touristification of Lisbon’s historic neighborhoods as both a research subject and an analytical framework for investigating sound’s role in the cultural and sensory restructuring of urban spaces in the post-industrial city. Lisbon’s recent promotion as a major tourist destination and tourism’s profound impact on the social fabric of its historic center made the Portuguese capital an ideal case study.
The research employed an interdisciplinary interpretive framework centered on the concepts of sound environment, urban ambiance, and sustainability. At its core, the project utilized sensory ethnography of the urban fabric, including field research, soundscape recordings, and interviews with local residents, visitors, policymakers, and other stakeholders involved in Lisbon’s development as a tourist destination.
The investigation operated on two analytical levels:
- Urban policy and city planning
- The everyday urban experience of city dwellers and visitors
The project focused on the interplay between urban spaces as conceived by planners and designers and the sensory engagement of residents and tourists with the built environment—the intersection where urban ambiances emerge.
The project assembled an interdisciplinary research team affiliated with NOVA University, University of Lisbon, University Institute of Lisbon, Universidad de Segovia, and Queen’s University Belfast, under the coordination of Dr. Iñigo Sánchez Fuarros. Between 2018 and 2022, this collaboration produced significant insights into the acoustic dimensions of urban tourism and their implications for city planning and community life.
For more information visit the project’s website.
