WSF 2015: How to implement the Right to the City to build democratic and sustainable cities


The workshop organizers presented: the content of the
Right to the City and its principles starting from a historical reconstruction
and emphasizing its collective dimension; this process started from the first
World Social Forum and led to the development of the World Charter for the
Right to the City, and was driven by many actors; other documents currently
existing on this issue include the Statute of the City of Brazil and the Mexico
City Charter for the Right to the City; the conformation of an International
Platform on the Right to the City that seeks, among other objectives, to
influence Habitat III; and referred to existing struggles in different parts of
the globe in the name of this Right or of some of its components. The presenters also shared the results of
research on the Right to the City in Jerusalem and Cairo, which are included in
a broader effort of documentation that also includes the status of this right
in Europe and Latin America.

During the workshops second stage, the floor was given
to invited persons to share their experiences on the right to the city. In this
context, the coordinator of UCLG’s (United Cities and Local Governments)
Committee on Social Inclusion, Participatory Democracy and Human Rights gave her presentation
on the first article of the Charter of Human Rights in the City dedicated to
the right to the City. This presentation clarified the difference between Human
Rights in the City, the Right to the City and the Rights of the City. Following
this presentation, the Secretary of Human Rights and Citizenship of the city of
Sao Paulo spoke about the process of implementing the universal basic income
through specific government programs.

The event concluded with a Q&A plenary session
focused on the role of local authorities in implementing the Right to the City.
It also included a discussion on the care to be used when explaining the Right
to the City in countries that are predominantly rural, in particular African
countries, and where rural people are often evicted because of plunder of natu ral
resources; and on the presentation of regional experiences based on building
links between social movements in the rural areas and the city, especially in surrounding
areas, to defend public spaces and other aspects of the Right to the City. Participants
included those from Algeria, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Egypt, Spain,
England, India, Mali, Mexico, Peru, and Tunisia.

Proposals:


Participation in the International Platform for the Right to the City;
further deepen the convergence of these issues (during the World Assembly of
Inhabitants, Habitat III side events, etc.); maintain dialogue on the content
of the Right to the City and its use.

Common Agenda:


Training Workshop on the Right to the City in the frame of the second
preparatory committee towards Habitat III, Habitat III and alternative
activities.

Other suggestions:


Need
to find simple and quick formulas to explain that the Right to the City does
not necessarily involve urbanization. For example, it could be the subtitle of new
documents drafted on this issue.


Civil Society Messages to the 9th Africities Summit

Civil Society Messages to the 9th Africities Summit

A self-organized civil-society initiative hosted 45 civil organization representatives this week at Kisumu, Kenya on 15–16 May to deliberate and consolidate messages to the Africities9 Summit. The Civil Society Forum [...]