The "Serie Derechos Humanos Emergentes" (Emerging Human Rights Series) collection of the Human Rights Institute of Catalonia includes a new publication devoted to “The right to the City”. The series, which makes an in-depth analysis of the rights stated in the Universal Declaration of Emerging Human Rights focuses this seventh publication on this right given in article 7, which concerns participative democracy: "Right to the city, which assures that all human beings and the whole of the community find suitable conditions in the city for their political, economic, social, cultural and ecological realisation".
This publication has received the support of the Observatory of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, a platform of entities and people defending the right to a decent home and to inclusive cities as a fundamental right of all people. The latest works of the Observatory have focused on claiming and defending the right to a decent home in the city, in the face of present discussions regarding the dwelling and the city being considered investment goods.
To deal with such a broad concept as "right to the city ", the text is divided into three large sections: the first defines what the right to the city is; a second section talks about the dimensions of this right, which includes the right to security, to access to public places and reflections concerning the rights of women; and finally the right to the city in practice, which mentions the European Charter of Safeguard of Human Rights in the City, which is also promoted by the UCLG Committee on Social Inclusion, Participative Democracy and Human Rights.
The UCLG has long promoted the Right to the City through the Committee on Social Inclusion, which has drawn up and promoted the Global Charter-Agenda for Human Rights in the City, formally adopted by the whole of the organisation as part of the Florence UCLG World Council held from 9 to 11 December 2011.
More information at:
http://www.idhc.org/