The 'Right to the City': from Paris 1968 to Rio 2010

In the last decade, the right to the city has evolved as a powerful rallying cry in the struggle against the exclusionary processes of globalization and the commodification of urban space, and in conflicts over who has claim to the city and what kind of city it should be. Drawing on the work of Henri Lefebvre the vision of the right to the city has inspired a global social movement, legislative reform in Latin America, and international debates (eg: at WUF5 in Rio). Nevertheless, its content remains elusive and implementation is fraught with challenges. This paper critically examines the right to the city debate, and argues for a redefinition of the role of the local state and social actors in implementing the rights-based agenda that the right to city entails.