Right to the City
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| Right to the City | |
|---|---|
| Name | Right to the City |
| Caption | Urban protest and community planning |
| Originator | Henri Lefebvre |
| Year | 1968 |
| Regions | Global |
| Related | Urban sociology, Social movements, Spatial justice |
Right to the City
The Right to the City is a political and urban theory articulated in 1968 by Henri Lefebvre advocating collective claims to urban space and democratic control of urbanization. It intersects with activist traditions associated with Jane Jacobs, Patricia Hill Collins, David Harvey, Saul Alinsky, and networks including Slum Dwellers International, Habitat International Coalition, and Urban Age researchers. The concept has influenced policies in jurisdictions such as Brazil, South Africa, France, Spain, and organizations like UN-Habitat and UNICEF.
Origins and theory
Lefebvre's essay and book writings, responding to uprisings like May 1968 protests in France and critiques by scholars such as Guy Debord, rooted the idea in Marxian analysis alongside urbanists like Lewis Mumford, Ernest Burgess, and Robert Park. Theoretical elaborations drew on work by Henri Bergson, Michel Foucault, Walter Benjamin, and later syntheses by David Harvey, Manuel Castells, and Saskia Sassen who linked capitalism, accumulation by dispossession, and global cities. Influences include social theorists Antonio Gramsci, Georg Lukács, and activists Saul Alinsky and Frantz Fanon, framing urban space as contested terrain in struggles similar to Paris Commune and decolonization movements like Algerian War.
Key concepts and principles
Central notions include collective rights to participation, appropriation, and production of urban life as advanced by Lefebvre and analysts such as Henri Lefebvre, David Harvey, Manuel Castells, Sharon Zukin, and Saskia Sassen. Related principles draw from the commons literature influenced by Elinor Ostrom and the capability approach of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, invoking redistribution seen in policies inspired by Aurelio Peccei-era planners and welfare reforms from New Deal-era precedents. Concepts like spatial justice, right to housing, and the right to public space link to declarations and legal instruments shaped with input from UN-Habitat, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and civil society networks such as Habitat for Humanity and Slum Dwellers International.
Historical and global movements
Movements adopting the framework span diverse actors: grassroots collectives like Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Teto, Abahlali baseMjondolo, and Platform for People’s Advancement, global coalitions including World Social Forum and People's Global Action, and city campaigns tied to events such as Olympic Games and World Cup hosting disputes in Rio de Janeiro and Cape Town. Historical antecedents include tenement struggles in New York City, public housing movements linked to Housing Act of 1937 and Great Society, anti-eviction campaigns in Barcelona, Istanbul, and Athens, and urban uprisings rooted in contexts like Solidarity (Polish trade union) and Tiananmen Square protests.
Legal recognition and policy applications
Legal incorporation appears in instruments like Constitution of South Africa-era jurisprudence on housing rights, municipal statutes in Brazil including City Statute (Estatuto da Cidade), and policy frameworks from UN-Habitat and Inter-American Development Bank. Cities implementing participatory budgeting, inspired by campaigns in Porto Alegre and advocated by militants associated with Workers' Party (Brazil), have operationalized participation linked to claims advanced by scholars such as Ernesto Laclau and policymakers influenced by Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Litigation invoking socio-spatial rights references case law from Constitutional Court of South Africa, decisions by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and municipal ordinances in Paris, Barcelona, and Bogotá.
Critiques and debates
Critiques range from accusations of vagueness by urban economists like Edward Glaeser and Alan B. Krueger to postcolonial readings by scholars such as Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and Dipesh Chakrabarty who question universality. Debates engage with neoliberal urbanism critiques posed by David Harvey, counterposals from communitarian theorists influenced by Robert Nozick and John Rawls, and tensions highlighted by practitioners like Amanda Burden and activists from Squatters Movement traditions. Scholars including Neil Smith, Loretta Lees, Tom Slater, and Mark Davidson analyze gentrification, displacement, and rent gaps linked to financialization examined in reports by International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
Contemporary manifestations and case studies
Contemporary examples include participatory budgeting in Porto Alegre and diffusion to cities like New York City, Paris, and Istanbul; anti-eviction movements in Barcelona and Athens tied to campaigns by PAH (Platform for People Affected by Mortgages) and Syndicat de Logement; landmark litigation in South Africa including Government of the Republic of South Africa v Grootboom; and urban commons initiatives in Berlin and San Francisco supported by collectives associated with Squatters' Movement (Europe). Large-scale redevelopment controversies appear in Rio de Janeiro pre-2016 Summer Olympics and displacement disputes in Beijing and Mumbai where organizations like Slum Dwellers International and SPARC (Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centers) mobilize. Research programs at institutions such as London School of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, and University of São Paulo produce empirical assessments used by NGOs like Cities Alliance and policy bodies including Inter-American Development Bank.