Max Weber Programme Multidisciplinary Research Workshop
The workshop aims to bring together legal scholars, philosophers, sociologists, and urban researchers to discuss the relevance of the concept of the 'right to the city' as a legal tool for advocating access to the metropolis, addressing housing deprivation, and promoting democratic urban governance.
The concept of the ‘right to the city’ has been widely explored since Lefebvre's initial assertion of this right. Purcell or Harvey break down Lefebvre's idea into two distinct rights: the right to contribute to creating public spaces and the right to access the amenities and social networks that cities offer. The right to the city has evolved from its original meaning and is now commonly used in anti-gentrification and other political or social movements aimed at promoting the well-being of city dwellers, especially those who are worse off, economically underprivileged, or otherwise vulnerable. The global ‘right to the city’ movements, as well as those local that led to the Brasilian federal legal right to the city, although are sometimes analysed through the lens of Lefebvre's ideas (Friendly, 2013), cannot be said to arise out of some fealty to Lefebvre’s ideas but precisely because Lefebvre’s ideas, like theirs, have primarily arisen out of the streets and neighborhoods of ailing cities’ (Harvey, 2012).
Yet another synthesis of the possible understandings of the right to the city is proposed (and criticised) by Jenkins as "a right to democratic, popular control over processes of urbanisation enjoyed by urban residents".
As of 2018, more than half of the population lived in the city. According to the United Nations, by 2050, it will be around 68%. It will be caused not only by the natural increase in population (as a result of newborns in the cities) but also because of the constant growth of cities and megacities along with the migrations from rural areas to the cities. This rampant urbanisation will not be universally distributed as "taken together, China, India and Nigeria are projected to account for 37% of the increase". That is why the tensions between current and would-be residents may vary across regions, cities, and countries. As the UN-Habitat 2022 World City Report envisions, the current urban policies will result in cities characterised by systematic inequalities and the exclusion of the poor in urban areas. Gentrification is a problem that may be aggravated by urban decisions that prioritise the influx of wealthy residents without considering the impact on lower-income individuals. While such urban policies can enhance the quality of social services for all (Harvey, 2012), they can also restrict the freedom of movement for poorer people who cannot afford the rising rents in cities (Glick, 2020), autonomy of would-be residents (Colin-Jaeger and Goetzmann), or the right to stay put of current dwellers in areas threatened by gentrification (Huber and Wolkenstein, 2018).
This activity is co-funded by the EUI Widening Europe Programme. The EUI Widening Europe Programme, backed by contributions from the European Union and EUI Contracting States, is designed to strengthen internationalisation, competitiveness, and quality in research in Widening countries, and thus foster a more cohesive European Higher Education and Research Area.
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