Abstract

In this article we seek to discuss the new possibilities of understanding the contemporary city, the tools and forms of registering the approximation and identification of ephemeral experiences, seen here as being positive, as forms that challenge the pessimistic ideas regarding the contemporary condition of resistance and criticism to the idea of impoverishing urban action, of losing corporeality in public spaces. We aim to present our reflections linked to the methodological construction of research with a group of elderly people who experience the public spaces in the central area of João Pessoa. We invite you to reflect on our investigative and analytical strategies, recreating ways of approaching and bonding with the focus group. We will discuss the challenges and possibilities of field research, the records and the transmission of the collected urban experiences. We have attempted to combine photography and drawings within our own narrative, in order to facilitate the understanding of the studied space and the constructed relationships.

Keywords:
elderly people; memory; urban experience; public space; new methodological strategy