The Urban Archives: Memory and History in the City

Abstract

This paper presents a methodology of urban landscape analysis, developed with an understanding of memory as a fundamental element in the person-environment relationship. The way people see themselves and the world around them is primarily influenced by memory, which is much more than a mere storage of experiences situated somewhere in an individual's mind. It is rather an ongoing construction and update of "archives." Memory is a process of psychic representation of things; that is, symbolization. For this reason, it is always required in the subjective construction of reality. Getting to know the archives people build up about the urban spaces surrounding them allows the observation of the symbolic existence of their city and how it is "invented" through the urban landscape. Thus, aiming to investigate and analyze the urban landscape "invented" by its inhabitants, we have developed a methodology of writings of stories about the city, which has been named Arquivos Mnemônicos do Lugar ("Place Mnemonic Archive"). In this paper we will present the stages, procedures, and results achieved by the methodology in the city of Rio de Janeiro, more specifically at the Engenhão stadium.  The use of the methodology has demonstrated that metaphors are a major indicator of the meanings people associate with places. Some spaces in the urban landscape, either occupied by buildings or not, have proved excellent at jogging people's memories, being therefore important "urban archives" of the city.