topos 115 | Right to the City

TOPICS

The famous French sociologist and urban researcher Henri Lefèbvre was born on 16 June 120 years ago. His "Right to the City", written in 1968, is a classic and at the same time a fundamental work for every urbanist. This anniversary is taken up by topos: Exactly on June 16 the issue 115 on the topic of Right to the City will be published. What does the Right to the City imply? Who owns the city? Who struggles for open space, for participation, for greenery, for resources? Which dynamics have global urbanization processes set in motion? What are the consequences of the increasing commodification of urban spaces? The Right to the City opens up a space full of possibilities – while the issue also discusses threats and consequences that accompany it.

CRISIS AS OPPORTUNITY
Henri Lefèbvre’s impact on today’s city development

PROTOTYPES FOR A REAL UTOPIA
City of Refugees: four utopian cities as a platform for a new, global multi-ethnic society

GENDER, RACE AND THE RIGHT TO THE CITY
In conversation with Kelley Lemon and Andrew Sargeant of BlackLAN

WOMEN BUILDING CITIES
The role of female urban planners and designers in creating cities

THE BOON AND BANE OF PRIVATE FUNDING FOR PUBLIC SPACES
How to upgrade neighborhoods: The High Line in NYC and the Atlanta BeltLine

THEIR RIGHT TO THE CITY, AND OURS
Who builds the city and who owns it? Reflections on the “real estate state”

GREEN GRANDEUR
The ambivalent endeavour of the transformation of the Parisian Champs-Élysées

INTERSTITIAL JUSTICE
Traffic space is public space: Calling for a paradigm shift with respect to the spaces dedicated to mobility

FACTS ABOUT THE RTTC

COPING WITH COMPOUNDED CRISES
Post-disaster and pandemic management in New Orleans In conversation with Laura Paul of lowernine.org

URBAN HEALTH MATTERS
The Right to the healthy City

KIDS AND THE CITY
In search of the child-friendly city: How to overcome the dichotomy between cities and children?

LONELY MAN IN THE CITY
The never-ending search for balance between authorities and the citizenry

BORDERS WIDE SHUT
No trespassing: How Berlin Wall artist Thierry Noir once reclaimed the city

CREATING POROUS STRUCTURES
Can an embassy be a place of encounter and openness?

INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS AND THE RTTC
In conversation with urban planner and architect Fabienne Hoelzel who plans in the Global South

MAKING SPACE WITH PUBLIC ART
The art of forming venues of encounter and debate with public art

CONTRIBUTORS