the problem
Lisbon is changing faster than the people who live in it. New residents arrive. Rents rise. Shops shift. Neighbors move out. Streets feel different. The rhythm changes.
None of this happens in one big decision. It happens gradually, in small increments that look manageable on paper. Yet over time, something fundamental shifts.
Neighborhoods like Graça, Alfama, Mouraria, Santos, and Marvila don’t just develop. They tip.
And by the time everyone agrees something is wrong, the social fabric has already moved on.
Lisbon tracks growth through permits, tourism numbers, investments, and construction. What it rarely tracks is how much change a neighborhood can absorb before it stops feeling like itself.
So growth keeps accelerating, without any shared sense of social limits.
how it works
The 10% City introduces a simple idea: every neighborhood in Lisbon has a social carrying capacity.
When more than ten percent of the social fabric changes within a year, the area enters what is called pressure mode.
This threshold is not a technical target or a rigid formula. It is a signal. A moment where the city collectively pauses and acknowledges that transformation is moving faster than daily life can comfortably absorb.
Once pressure mode is reached, the neighborhood becomes visible as an area under social stress. Community voices are invited into the conversation, local impact is reviewed, and further pressure is slowed down rather than automatically approved.
Not to stop change, but to slow it down long enough for people to remain part of it.
the setup
The 10% City operates at neighborhood level, not city level.
It is designed as a social early-warning layer that sits alongside Lisbon’s existing urban planning systems. Instead of treating growth as something that is either good or bad, it treats growth as something that has a pace.
The setup is deliberately simple. Each neighborhood has a small set of social indicators that reflect lived reality. When these indicators move too quickly, the system shifts into attention mode.
No complex governance model. No heavy regulation. Just a shared agreement that social stability is something worth measuring and protecting.
Lisbon stops asking only how fast it can grow. It starts asking how fast its neighborhoods can adapt without losing their sense of belonging.
benefits for residents
Residents gain a shared language for something they already feel but rarely see reflected in policy. The moment their bairro begins to slip out of sync with daily life.
The 10% City doesn’t freeze development. It makes change visible and discussable. It creates a legitimate space to say that transformation is happening too fast to remain rooted.
Not as resistance. Not as nostalgia. But as a social signal built into the city itself.
for businesses and investors
Businesses and investors gain insight into the social capacity of Lisbon’s neighborhoods, not just their financial potential.
The 10% City introduces the idea that opportunity is not only about demand and return, but also about social readiness. It reduces long-term backlash and creates a more stable environment where development aligns with lived reality.
Growth becomes contextual rather than extractive. It becomes something you enter into with awareness of the people already there.
For the city & policymakers
Lisbon gains a missing instrument: a social speedometer.
A way to detect when urban transformation is outpacing social adaptation, before resentment, displacement, and polarization become structural.
The 10% City shifts urban governance from reacting to damage to managing pace. From solving problems after they explode to sensing pressure while it is still reversible.
It does not solve urban growth. It changes how growth is felt, understood, and navigated in real time.
Turn ideas into action – your solution starts here
The 10% City is a disruptive social concept within the Quality of Life framework. It is not a policy, not a regulation, and not currently implemented. It exists as a design proposal for Lisbon’s urban labs, civic innovation teams, and community-led planning initiatives.
Not to control the city. But to give Lisbon a sense of rhythm again. Because Lisbon doesn’t just need to grow. It needs to stay livable while it does.
How we can collaborate:
1. Define the challenge – Identify what’s missing and the impact you want to create.
2. Explore existing solutions – Use this concept as a foundation and customize it to fit your needs.
3. Co-create a custom solution – If this isn’t the right fit, we’ll develop a fresh solution together.
4. Make it real – From strategy to execution, we help turn ideas into action.
This is a proprietary concept developed by Hans van de Rakt / the Business Hippie Club. Our solutions are designed to be adapted and implemented in real-world scenarios, ensuring meaningful impact.
Business Hippie Club 