Henri Lefebvre, the right to the city and the new metropolitan mainstream

Abstract

The phrase “the right to the city” has been making a comeback as a rallying cry in recent years. In cities of the North and the South alike, it is used by urban social movements, by political alliances, by international organizations, and also at academic conferences. A closer look reveals, however, that its usage varies considerably. It often serves just as a kind of conceptional umbrella for all types of political and social demands that generally address the problems arising in urban areas today (see also Mayer, this volume; Marcuse, this volume). The renaissance of the slogan is remarkable, as it hearkens back to the late 1960s, a specific moment in the history of urbanization. At the time, it was coined by French philosopher Henri Lefebvre in response to the urban crisis of that period. However, the situation then was quite different from the one today. The resurgence of this rallying cry therefore raises some important questions: Are we experiencing a new urban crisis? What are its specific traits and characteristics? What distinguishes it from earlier phases of urbanization? In order to clarify these questions, it is useful to return to the original conception of the term and explore its (potential) meanings for urbanization today.