Urban Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law: Historical Perspectives and Contemporary Challenges

Abstract

AbstractThe 21st century may safely be called the ‘urban era’. The year 2007 marked the moment when for the first time in modern history, over 50% of the world’s population lived in urban areas. By the year 2050 almost 70% of humanity is projected to be urban, i.e., a human settlement with usually a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. While the role of large cities, metropolitan areas and urban regions has been increasing, the political domain of the states, of which these cities or regions constitutionally form part, seems to be continuously shrinking. And although the rise of the urban is unlikely to lead to the disappearance of the sovereign-state model, the idea of states as having final authority is seriously challenged. This is caused by at least two simultaneously occurring trends: the transfer of tasks and responsibilities upwards, to the international and supranational level, through processes of globalization and a development downwards, to the local and regional level (or even the neighborhood or district), through processes of decentralization and regionalization. These combined trends have been called glocalization, a process exemplary for the complexity of modern society, in which authority shifts from hierarchy to networks, and the autonomy and unity of the central and sovereign state are under pressure. This special issue is the fruit of a workshop organized at Tilburg Law School on 25 November 2022, dedicated to the exploration of several constitutional and rule of law challenges posed by what we have dubbed urban constitutionalism.