The aim of ‘A Vila da Mañá’ is to change the model of town or city, we believe that another one can be possible. This is achieved through the protagonist participation of local children and adolescents who, by working with fundamental concepts through tactical urban planning actions, become active citizens capable of transforming their spaces.

The reality today is that the natural connection between children and their habitat, the place where they grow and develop, the city or town in which they live, is diluted, and barely exists, we must understand the city through its eyes.

We need to find out if they really know their habitat, if they understand the spaces that make them up, if they can locate the most frequented places within the urban fabric or if the opposite happens, if the city is an element unrelated to their existence, a strange, unknown entity.

The new generations, the inhabitants of tomorrow, do not know their town or city in its entirety, they live in a “small box”, they move to another smaller “box” and arrive at a bigger “box” (it’s called a school, shopping centre, sports centre, .. or playground). This is your relationship with your environment.

Sandra Gonzalez Alvarez