Throughout Europe, civic spaces serve as vital arenas for democratic life… These are the places, the platforms, the events, where individuals and communities converge to engage, organise, innovate, express dissent, and collectively envision the future. These spaces are not fixed; they transform over time, thriving in some contexts while facing constraints from political, social, or economic pressures in others.
Capturing their dynamics demands more than isolated case studies or static snapshots; it calls for a framework that reflects their complexity, interconnectedness, and continual evolution.
The B.RIGHT SPACES CARTOGRAPHY responds to this need, offering a living, interactive, and accessible map that charts these spaces as a shared landscape of civic activity, fostering understanding, visibility, and dialogue across Europe’s diverse communities.
Launched in October 2021 in Encosta de São Vicente, in the former Matadouro area (Torres Vedras Municipality), Somos Comunidade is a community-based initiative that uses arts, communication, and social innovation to strengthen civic engagement and social cohesion. Through a local TV channel, a community newspaper, and participatory artistic workshops, the project works to reduce social isolation, empower residents, and foster a shared local cultural identity.
Located in the Encosta de São Vicente requalification area, Porta do Bairro is a community house promoted by the Centro Social Paroquial de Torres Vedras that operates as an open and inclusive civic space within a regenerated urban environment.
Ateneu L’Harmonia is a local social and cultural facility located in a renovated building of the former Fabra i Coats factory in Sant Andreu, Barcelona. It hosts and supports community-led activities that strengthen the neighborhood’s social, cultural, and leisure life, promote participation and collective action, and foster a more inclusive, creative, cohesive, and sustainable local community.
The Open Jazdów Partnership (Wolny Jazdów) focuses on community building through co-management, creating networks of mutual aid and integration. It functions as a grassroots center for culture and education, organizing thousands of events annually within an “urban laboratory” framework.