Right To The City Research Articles

Brazilian Urban Policy: Sustainability as a Driving Force

Defining global themes such as Urban Policy, Urban Sustainability, and even the Right to the City (RTTC) is fundamental to stimulating and establishing a continuous dialogue with the scientific community, mainly in the social sciences. Thus, understanding the dynamics around the scope of urban sustainability requires an analysis that is focused on multiple global realities. Taking a holistic view of Brazilian Urban Policy, this entry looks at the historical contexts that make urban sustainability the driving force behind this policy. In addition, an interdisciplinary consideration of urban sustainability is proposed using an analysis that is based on the connection between urban policies and social functions that reflect the idea of a sustainable city. The results of this analysis also point to the need for a continuous debate on the subject that primarily promotes new discoveries; this is so that the driving force of urban policy can gain new meanings and new guidelines can be implemented.

The trajectory of the right to the city in Recife, Brazil: From belonging towards inclusion

In 1967, Henri Lefebvre developed the Right to the City (RTC) as ‘a cry and demand’ for ‘a transformed and renewed right to urban life’. In Brazil, the RTC was institutionalised in the City Statute in 2001. We examine the trajectory of the RTC in Recife, Brazil, through the lens of Alain Badiou’s set-theoretical ontology of inconsistency, which argues that there is a fundamental disjunction between belonging and inclusion. The articulation between belonging and inclusion produces four different arenas of power and categories of being in the city that we develop as a heuristic framework for analysing the trajectory of participation in Recife, where the struggle for the RTC resulted in a system of popular participation. This system operated under the precept that ‘everyone who lives and works here belongs here’, in opposition to urban capital’s drive to include everything and everyone in the market. However, the RTC was captured within a discourse of participation and inclusivity (what we denominate the ‘RTC for All’) becoming an element in a post-political fantasy, resulting in the decay of popular participation. Nevertheless, we argue that the emancipatory and revolutionary potentiality of the RTC, as advocated by Lefebvre, remains powerful as long as the disjuncture between people’s desire for belonging and capital’s drive for inclusion is foregrounded.

The End of the Right to the City: A Radical-Cooperative View

Is the Right to the City (RTTC) still a useful framework for a transformative urban politics? Given recent scholarly criticism of its real-world applications and appropriations, in this paper, we argue that the transformative promise in the RTTC lies beyond its role as a framework for oppositional struggle, and in its normative ends. Building upon Henri Lefebvre's original writing on the subject, we develop a “radical-cooperative” conception of the RTTC. Such a view, which is grounded in the lived experiences of the current city, envisions an urban society in which inhabitants can pursue their material and social needs through self-governed cooperation across social difference. Growing and diversifying spaces and sectors of urban life that are decoupled from global capitalism are, we argue, necessary to create space for this inclusionary politics. While grassroots action is essential to this process, so is multi-scalar support from the state.

Walkability and the Right to the city: A snapshot critique of pedestrian space in Maputo, Mozambique

On the premise of transport inequality, urban mobility and the production of pedestrian space, this research explores pedestrians (im)mobility in Maputo, Mozambique's capital city, as a means of unravelling deeper-rooted issues of societal inequality. Borrowing from the Right to the City (RTTC), walking is repositioned as a potential ‘equalising mode’, reflecting on the social, physical and individual drivers of inequalities for walking in the city. Such analysis responds to existing gaps in a literature about walking that has little to offer about its links with social and economic inequalities in the global South. The paper builds on 22 semi-structured interviews and a journey audit exercise to discover that whilst the unfavourable pedestrian infrastructure makes walking difficult, the social stigmas of this space have a greater impact on people's perceptions of walkability. As such, low-income identities are more likely to walk, frequently in parts of the city where walking infrastructure is minimal (if at all), and may therefore find it more difficult to exercise their RTTC than their high-income counterparts. To challenge the status quo, this study concludes that more ‘hubs’ of opportunity must be created to make walking more equitable in addition to improving the most urgent infrastructural shortages.

'MEETING OF WATERS'? THE COMPLEX LANDSCAPE OF THE POLISH RIGHT TO THE CITY ACTIVISM

For over a decade, the explosion of various forms of urban activism has been observed: so- called urban social movements or the right to the city (RTTC) movements actively participate in the realm of non-institutional politics. This trend has been observed both world-wide and in Europe, particularly in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Poland is also a clear example of this tendency. The paper presented aims to achieve two goals. First of all, it is based on desk research and offers a broad literature overview, indicating the main directions and results in urban activism research in Poland of the last 10 years. Recalling and discussing the broadest possible body of literature, with particular emphasis on Polish-language references, should be useful for international readers and researchers. Secondly, the paper attempts to synthesize these current research results, including the authors own research results, identifying the complexity of the field of urban activism. As a result, it points to various entities using the RTTC slogan in their social struggles, consequently identifying two main types of RTTC activism: radical and middle-class (petite bourgeoisie?) movements.

Is the Right to Mobility a Right to the City? Examining a Well-Accepted Planning Paradigm

Is the Right to Mobility a Right to the City? Examining a Well-Accepted Planning Paradigm

COVID-19 crisis and urbanization, migration and inclusive city policies in India: A new theoretical framework

This paper is an earnest effort to develop a coherent theoretical migration model by embedding the dynamics of urban economics, ignored by the celebrated migration models such as Harris–Todaro model of migration. The principal motivation behind the composition is the eruption of the COVID-19 global pandemics, which has forced migrant labours (the engine of a globalized economic system) to shift from the urban areas to their origin. This migration crisis has put a serious challenge for the revitalization of the city economy in the post lockdown period. Further, this raises the question can the city provides the migrants better opportunities and benefits to get them to return? In contrast to standard migration models that attempted to limit the migration into the cities, our new theoretical perspective highlights the importance of agglomeration economies, urban informal sector and the development of core urban infrastructure to catalyse agglomeration externalities in the process of urban development and accommodating rural–urban migrants. The presentation of urban political economy into the theoretical account of migration leads to the importance of policies to augment agglomeration economies. These include the provision of infrastructure and affordable housing and mitigate congestion diseconomies in the form of sprawl, slums, poverty, traffic bottlenecks and so forth. Stopping migration or wage subsidy to the urban producer is not only unrealistic but also a myopic solution. On the contrary, cities should be prepared with planning, financing and governance mechanism to create the infrastructure needed by employment-generating activities, catalysing agglomeration-led and knowledge-powered growth. In the end, our model suggests any approach to deal with urbanization issues in India must bring into account the critical part played by migrants-urban poor and address their needs while benefitting rural areas. The migrants-urban poor do not need charity. They need to be recognised as partners in the wealth creation process of cities and deserve ‘right to the city’ on their merit. While markets have failed them in the past, governments have also not catered to their needs. The urban planning and governance processes which failed to recognise the ‘location’ and ‘access’ of the poor urban migrants need to be reformed.

Neoliberal Urbanity and the Right to Housing of the Urban Poor in Dhaka, Bangladesh

In Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh with a population of 18 million, nearly one-third are living under the threat of eviction without resettlement due to lack of tenure security. This occurs despite the Bangladesh government’s ratification of multiple international conventions as well as provisions within the national Constitution with regard to people’s rights. Within this context, drawing on Lefebvre’s theorization of space and using the right to the city (RTC) framework, this article explores the urban poor’s right to housing in the context of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Findings suggest that the local and central government officials categorize slum dwellers as encroachers and criminals, who pose a direct threat to an orderly, clean and green city. Hence, they cannot be allowed to exist in the city. Additionally, the state has shifted the development of land and housing markets to real estate developers, following a neoliberal economic model. Consequently, a few powerful developers control Dhaka’s land and housing markets, only supplying housing for the growing middle class. Access to these houses is far beyond poor people’s reach. Thus, the urban poor’s housing rights are denied both by the state and by the market in Dhaka.

Davide Arcidiacono and Mike Duggan (2019), Sharing Mobilities. Questioning Our Right to the City in the Collaborative Economy, London-New York: Routledge.

Davide Arcidiacono and Mike Duggan (2019), Sharing Mobilities. Questioning Our Right to the City in the Collaborative Economy, London-New York: Routledge.

A contribution to building unified movements for the environment: aligning interests, forming alliances

The aim of this paper is to outline a way in which research can contribute to the advance of environmental social movements. Current struggles under capitalism are fragmented and localized, which means that creating unity out of fragmented struggles is essential for movements to become more successful. The Right to the City (RTC) as a concept, in its most radical formulation, has this ambition at its core. I examine various attempts from the RTC literature to promote unity, paying particular attention to the use of ideas of justice. In general these attempts are too abstract to be of practical use to existing movements. They do provide useful insight to researchers, by showing the necessity of paying attention to the context that particular movements operate in, but means of formulating advice for movement activists remain vague. I argue that to be more useful to movements, research should and can have something to say about the practical issues movements face, such as, how demands are framed and how to engage with other organizations. I argue that this can be done by bringing together analysis at a number of levels. In the case of movements of labor for the environment, Marxist geographic structural analysis can be combined with political and cultural analysis based on Gramsci’s theory of hegemony and analysis of the dynamics of movement emergence and advance using social movement theory. I argue that such a framework can connect a vision for radical change with the more immediate problems of organizing social movements.

Whose Right to the City?

Whose Right to the City?

Tensões criativas e inovações táticas no movimento sindical urbano: os casos dos teleoperadores e dos rodoviários no Rio de Janeiro

Resumo Este artigo analisa as experiências recentes de ativismo sindical de duas categorias de trabalhadores do setor de serviços urbanos: os teleoperadores e os rodoviários. Mais especificamente, são tratados como objetos a greve dos teleoperadores do estado do Rio de Janeiro, em 2014, e a luta dos rodoviários cariocas entre a criação do Sintraturb-Rio, em 2009, e a greve de 2014. Argumenta-se que o ciclo de protestos iniciado em 2013 revelou e reforçou o entrelaçamento entre a luta pelo direito à cidade e a luta por condições dignas de trabalho nos grandes centros urbanos. As tensões criativas entre gerações distintas de militantes e as inovações táticas observadas nos casos dos teleoperadores e dos rodoviários no Rio de Janeiro apontam nessa direção.

Dez anos de ocupações organizadas em Belo Horizonte: radicalizando a luta pela moradia e articulando ativismos contra o urbanismo neoliberal

Resumo Este artigo é uma tentativa de balanço dos dez anos de um ciclo importante de lutas organizadas por movimentos sociais em Belo Horizonte. Ao longo desse tempo, os movimentos transformaram-se, ampliaram suas pautas para além do direito à moradia e assumiram estratégias de luta ampliada pelo direito à cidade – e contra o processo recente de neoliberalização da gestão municipal – que tomaram principalmente a forma de ocupações organizadas. Durante o período, caracterizado por uma hibridização das lutas urbanas, foi alterado significativamente o padrão de relacionamento dos movimentos com as instituições, que passou a se basear na ação direta, na ação institucional e na ação cotidiana.

Refocusing urban disaster governance on marginalised urban people through right to the city

ABSTRACTIn contemporary neoliberal regimes, urban disaster governance typically emphasises resilience of cities and their inhabitants. Marginalised urban people, most vulnerable to disasters, are thereby expected to exhibit self-organisation. Yet cities tend to be (re)constructed for capital, prioritising exchange-value, while the use-value is comparatively under-prioritized. In order to conceptually refocus urban disaster governance on justice for and power of marginalised urban people, we define and discuss three conceptualizations of the Right to the City (RTTC) – institutionalised, Harveyan and neo-Lefebvrian. The institutionalised RTTC is congruent with neoliberal urban disaster governance, but the other two may be used to challenge this conceptualisation. Striving to reclaim decision-making over capital accumulation in the city, a Harveyan RTTC-inspired disaster governance would prioritise addressing the processes of urban marginalisation through democratisation, rather than focusing solely on preparedness for and response to hazards. In partial contrast, a neo-Lefebvrian RTTC-inspired disaster governance would be mainly focused on bottom-up efforts to protect and recover the use-value of the city, particularly for disaster-vulnerable populations. We conclude that a combination of the latter two conceptualizations, expressed through a struggle on multiple terrains involving local self-organisation, formal democratisation and mobilisation of global networks, could make possible a more socially just urban disaster governance.

A Right to the City

A Right to the City

Insurgent planning?

Under what conditions, planning can be transformative? While also acknowledging Critical Urban Studies’ general skepticism around the transformative power of urban planning policies, this article reflects on the possibilities of planning in facilitating enduring urban change. It does so by scrutinizing the Brazilian process of institutionalization of the notion of the Right to the City (RTTC) and its effects on the daily lives of vulnerable residents of the city of Fortaleza. Using the theorectical lenses of Insurgent Planning literature, the research offers some insights for examining the contradictory processes of rights based inclusion and material exclusion. On one side, it reveals an association of RTTC planning policies with neoliberal ideologies neutralizing the political gains of earlier urban social movements. On the other side, having residents check on the outcomes of state practices and adopting an attitude of not giving up on political confrontation, when deemed necessary, has proven an efficient way to materialize the redistribution of urban resources toward the excluded. The fidings are grounded in six years of field research on/about informal residents’ struggle for adequate living conditions in a peripheral region of the city called Grande Bom Jardim.

Hacia una mirada dialéctica del Patrimonio

El patrimonio cultural es una construcción social compleja en la cual los procesos de patrimonialización exponen a los bienes culturales a lo público. A partir de esta concepción, en este trabajo se presentan una serie de reflexiones sobre lo público del patrimonio cultural y los procesos de patrimonialización desde una perspectiva histórico-dialéctica. En este sentido, este artículo indaga sobre las negatividades que generan los diferentes actores involucrados en los procesos de apropiación del patrimonio, para luego explorar sobre la territorialización del patrimonio en el espacio público y su importancia en el derecho a la ciudad. A través de este recorrido se intentará entender los conflictos en términos de poder, legitimidad e intereses que recaen sobre el patrimonio y la importancia que este tiene en los procesos de apropiación del espacio urbano.

Dal “diritto alla città” al “diritto alla mobilità”. Spunti per una critica socio-spaziale della definizione di “turista”

In this paper, we discuss the “right to mobility”. On one side, we look at the evolution of the debate within the so-called mobility studies, on the other we look at the so-called “right to the city” invoked by Henri Lefebvre (1968). With these references, we propose a critique to the common definition of “tourist” used in statistics. This definition is constructed in opposition to the one of “other travellers”. Our hypothesis is that statistical, normative and fiscal definitions, produce discourses that performatively act on places; in so doing, they contribute in limiting the access to the urban space to migrants, seasonal workers, students and a variety of other mobile identities. We then look at the archetypical city for overtourism: Venice. We juxtapose the construction of “mobility others” in tourism statistics with the so called “landing fee” approved, but not applied yet, by Venice City Council in 2018. Consequently, we show how the debate that has followed the proposal for the fee constitutes an impasse towards a “right to the city” intersecting a “right to mobility”. In the end, we pinpoint for a couple of experiences of inclusive urban hospitality that are inclusive of diverse mobilities despite their difference.

Nuevas modalidades de hábitat popular en Tandil, Argentina. La resignificación del uso del espacio urbano

El siguiente trabajo se propone analizar las modalidades populares de acceso al hábitat que surgieron y se consolidaron en la ciudad de Tandil desde comienzos del siglo XXI, indagando por las potencialidades que presentan para resignificar el valor de uso del espacio urbano en pos de la construcción de una ciudad más inclusiva. Para abordar la complejidad de los procesos que se presentan en esta ciudad intermedia, se consideró pertinente utilizar la propuesta teórica del materialismo histórico-geográfico de David Harvey, así como las ideas de Henry Lefebvre sobre el derecho a la ciudad. En cuanto a la metodología, se realizaron entrevistas a referentes de las organizaciones que desarrollaron proyectos relacionados con el acceso al hábitat y se utilizaron fuentes de información secundarias elaboradas por organismos públicos. La temática adquiere relevancia en un contexto en el cual los procesos especulativos con respecto al suelo urbano generan una vulneración cada vez mayor del derecho al hábitat digno, obligando a los sectores populares a organizarse y a buscar alternativas a las que ofrece el mercado inmobiliario formal. Estas experiencias lograron resultados favorables, aportando elementos para pensar otras posibilidades de producción del hábitat urbano.

Negotiating the right to the city: graffiti in Bogota

espanolEl concepto lefebvriano del derecho a la ciudad es una denuncia de las realidades de exclusion y alienacion en la sociedad urbana, y una exigencia para la justicia social a traves de la participacion en el espacio publico urbano y su apropiacion. Al aplicar este concepto al contexto contemporaneo del grafiti en Bogota, Colombia, la intencion del articulo es demostrar como un analisis alineado con la idea de una geopolitica de lo cotidiano expone las practicas politicas y cotidianas de los habitantes urbanos. El derecho a la ciudad no es algo que simplemente exigen los grafiteros, es un derecho negociado con el gobierno local, contribuyendo a la legitimacion de la practica creativa. Sin embargo, los grafiteros tambien enfrentan la reproduccion de exclusion en la vida cotidiana y los limites del derecho a la ciudad se revelan en una jerarquia estetica, que a su vez reproduce una jerarquia social. EnglishThe Lefebvrean concept of the right to the city denounces the realities of exclusion and alienation in urban society and demands social justice through the participation in, and appropriation of, urban space. Applying this concept to the contemporary context of graffiti in Bogota, this article aims to show how an analysis in line with an everyday geopolitics offers an insight into the everyday political practices performed by urban inhabitants. The right to do graffiti in the city is not simply demanded by graffiti artists but negotiated with the local government in Bogota, and this negotiation has both stemmed from, and contributed to, a legitimisation of this creative practice. However, graffiti artists also face the reproduction of processes of exclusion in everyday life and the limits of the right to the city are revealed through an aesthetic hierarchy that reproduces a social hierarchy.