People applaud Martim Moniz’s Peace Garden in Lisbon, but with warnings

The reclassification of the Praça do Martim Moniz square in Lisbon aims to create a “garden of peace” and involves the reorganization of traffic, a project that was applauded by the population this Monday, but with warnings about situations of disrespect for public space.

“This is a project for those who live, move and visit this space and respect the different habits, uses and cultures,” said urban planning councilor at the Lisbon City Council Joana Almeida (independently elected by the Novos Tempos coalition). – PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança).

The mayor was speaking at a joint meeting to present the project, which was held at the Hotel Mundial, located in Praça do Martim Moniz, and which had a full hall with a capacity of about 170 people.

Among the public comments, resident Helena Peixoto, who lives opposite the square, complained of disturbances involving noise, vandalism, inappropriate behavior and “disrespect for public space.”

“Judging by the beauty they showed, if there is no supervision, supervision and supervision, we will destroy the square in a short time, because there are a lot of people living in this area and they are all very welcome, as I usually say, we are usually a bag generosity, but We must inform people that there are rules in our country,” he said.

The client, Frederico Guerreiro, emphasized “the very strong desire of all the polluters in Santa Maria Mayor to achieve effective change, since this parish has been completely abandoned for many years.”

“Martim Moniz Square has turned into a world toilet, […] this is an open-air toilet,” noted the resident, calling himself a patriot and warning about crime in the area, as well as the lack of police and urban hygiene.

Other citizens asked about helping the homeless, providing public toilets, rebuilding Torre da Pela and the configuration of the bike path.

In the international public competition for the requalification of Praça do Martim Moniz, which ran from March to June 2023 and received 21 entries, the winner, chosen by the jury, was the project of Filipa Cardoso de Menezes and Catarina Assis Pacheco – Arquitetura Paisagista. In March next year, an exhibition with all candidate works will be held on the square.

“Over the decades, this area has been the subject of countless interventions, some more successful, others less successful, abandoned projects, advances and retreats. Fortunately, the project presented here today is the result of a public participation process,” said Councilwoman Joana. Almeida, noting that the population has demonstrated a “strong desire to create a new garden.”

In addition to green areas, citizens demanded “stimulating a variety of activities, improving traffic flow, eliminating the island effect that such traffic causes in the square, reducing noise and promoting comfortable pedestrian accessibility, as well as increased safety,” the mayor emphasized, considering that the winning project according to the recharacterization of Praça do Martim, Moniz reflects “a great respect for the experience that characterizes this space, which it preserves and values.”

The project dedicates the entire central part of the square to creating a “lived garden with a variety of spaces and uses” to welcome different users of the space, as well as attract new users, and “proposes a reorganization of traffic flow to free up as much public space as possible for pedestrians,” it emphasized. urban planning advisor.

“We want this to be a project for the whole city, a garden for the historic center and a garden for the whole world that everyone can use,” said Joana Almeida, noting that changes may still be made to the project and a second public presentation is planned. in June of this year, with work expected to be completed “during 2026.”

The president of the parish council of Santa Maria Mayor, Miguel Coelho (PS), who was present at the meeting, congratulated the chosen project, saying that it is “very suitable for the area”, hoping that it will be implemented “as quickly as possible”, while I is confident that he will not be inaugurated as mayor again since his term ends in 2025 and he cannot re-run for office.

“However, I am concerned about the use of the area in these two or three years, that it will take time, and I wanted to say publicly: this area is under the responsibility of the city council, in my opinion, due to the distance, “it is not very well managed. The board is ready take responsibility for the management of this square until its construction,” said Miguel Coelho, without receiving a response.

Architect Catarina Assis Pacheco explained that the project being developed aims to involve all agents working in Praça do Martim Moniz, noting that the proposal is based on “very simple ideas”, namely “the desire to return greenery to the square”, taking into account attention to the “aridness of the entire surrounding area”, with a huge lack of green space.

The project involves “removing one of the traffic lanes”, concentrating car traffic on the Rua da Palma side, with two lanes in each direction and a roundabout to the south of the square, where public transport stops will be located, he said. Architect Catarina Assis Pacheco added the sidewalk in lighter colors, reflecting the idea of ​​having fewer cars in the Baixa area, making room for pedestrians and bicycles.

Architect Filipa Cardoso de Menezes said that “the protagonist of the project is the living sun, the greatest agent of biodiversity”, adding that the new garden will connect the “great diversity” of people and vegetation in the world with a selection of species from different continents, allowing space users to recall memories through vegetation.

“The whole world fits here,” the same architect confirmed, saying that the plan is to create a cistern to reuse water, which will be done by eliminating some underground parking spaces, “3% to 4% of the park’s area.” capacity”.