Theory of the right to the city
Introduction
The right to the city is a concept that puts inclusion, accessibility and democracy in cities at the center. Henri Lefebvre proposed this concept in his 1968 book Le Droit à la Ville, [1] [2] in which he argued that urban space should not be controlled solely by market forces and capitalism, but should be shaped and governed by the citizens who inhabit it.
A variety of social movements and human activists have taken up this concept to access the city fairly. This right includes the right to housing, access to public space and against gentrification. [3].
Overview
In creating this concept, Lefebvre placed special emphasis on the effects that capitalism has on "the city," whereby urban life was degraded to commodity status, social interaction was uprooted, and urban space and government were transformed into exclusive goods. [4].
This conception of the city as a capitalist product has generated and deepened inequalities in the territories.
Social movements have taken up the concept of the right to the city to fight for social justice, access to housing and against inequalities.[5] [6].
An example of how the notion of the right to the city gained international recognition in the 2010s can be seen in the United Nations Habitat III process and how the New Urban Agenda (2016) recognized the concept as the vision of "cities for all". [7].
Popular movements of the 2000s
Various popular movements, such as the Abahlali baseMjondolo shanty-dwelling movement in South Africa, [8] the Right to the City Alliance in the United States, [9] Recht auf Stadt, [10] a network of squatters, tenants and artists in Hamburg, and several movements in Asia and Latin America, [11] incorporated the idea of the right to the city into their struggles in the first decades of the century.
In Brazil, the City Statute of 2001 incorporated the Right to the City into federal legislation. [12].
In the 2010s, scholars proposed a “digital right to the city,” [13] [14] which involves thinking of the city not only as bricks and mortar, but also as digital code and information. [15].
Criticism
The concept has received criticism because Henri Lefevbre's original version was reduced to a "vision of citizenship", focused only on the implementation of social and economic rights in the city, leaving aside the transformative nature and role of social conflict of the original concept. [16] [17] Marcelo Lopes de Souza, for example, has argued that as the right to the city has become "fashionable these days", "the price of this has often been the trivialization and corruption of Lefebvre's concept" and has called for fidelity to the meaning.
References
- [1] ↑ Purcell, Mark (October 2002). «Excavating Lefebvre: The right to the city and its urban politics of the inhabitant». GeoJournal 58 (2–3): 99-108. doi:10.1023/B:GEJO.0000010829.62237.8f. Pdf.: https://dx.doi.org/10.1023%2FB%3AGEJO.0000010829.62237.8f
- [2] ↑ Unger, Knut (14 de febrero de 2009). «"Right to the City" as a response to the crisis: "Convergence" or divergence of urban social movements?». Reclaiming Spaces. Archivado desde el original el 10 de marzo de 2012.: https://web.archive.org/web/20120310001029/http://www.reclaiming-spaces.org/crisis/archives/266
- [3] ↑ «David Harvey: The Right to the City. New Left Review 53, September-October 2008.». newleftreview.org (en inglés). Consultado el 14 de junio de 2018.: https://newleftreview.org/II/53/david-harvey-the-right-to-the-city
- [4] ↑ Swing, Capitán. «El derecho a la ciudad | Capitán Swing». capitanswing.com. Consultado el 14 de junio de 2018.: http://capitanswing.com/libros/el-derecho-a-la-ciudad/
- [5] ↑ «Competitive Metropolises and the Prospects for Spatial Justice | CISDP». www.uclg-cisdp.org (en inglés). Consultado el 14 de junio de 2018.: https://www.uclg-cisdp.org/en/observatory/reports/competitive-metropolises-and-prospects-spatial-justice
- [6] ↑ «What Is The Right to the City? | RioOnWatch». www.rioonwatch.org (en inglés estadounidense). 16 de octubre de 2013. Consultado el 14 de junio de 2018.