Urban Politics of Human Rights

Urban actors increasingly use human rights to address inequalities, combat privatization, and protect vested interests. This book explores the potential and pitfalls of these processes in globalized and unequal cities, highlighting the conditions under which human rights mobilization contributes to social justice. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the interrelationship between human rights and the urban.

Format: Hardback
Length: 234 pages
Publication date: 14 November 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Urban actors are increasingly leveraging human rights to address inequalities, combat privatization, and emphasize common aspirations, or to safeguard vested (private) interests. The potential and limitations of these processes are shaped by the urban context and are inherently political. This book delves into the heart of these urban politics of human rights, featuring contributions from an international cohort with extensive experience in this field. The contributors offer insights into these politics in cities across four continents and eight cities, presenting a wealth of empirical detail and diverse theoretical perspectives. They examine the dynamics of city societies, the roles of urban actors, and the mechanisms of human rights mobilization. By doing so, they highlight the commonalities in rights engagement in today's globalized and often unequal cities characterized by urban law, private capital, and communities that rally around concepts such as the "right to the city."

Most importantly, the chapters emphasize the conditions under which this mobilization truly contributes to social justice, encompassing the fundamental right to presence, cultural rights, accessible housing, and, particularly in times of COVID, healthcare.

Urban Politics of Human Rights is a vital resource for anyone with a practical or theoretical interest in the intricate, deeply political, and, at times, profoundly promising interrelationship between human rights and the urban. It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Weight: 620g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032299037