THE RIGHT TO THE CITY OR THE SOCIALISATION OF THE COMMONS?

The right to the city is perhaps the only strand of social science thought that goes uncontested. It is universally acclaimed by both its theorists (in the metropolises) and practitioners (in the third world slums). It has been presented as a new grounded way of reclaiming citizenship for the disenfranchised masses in the urban fringes. The approach is at once presented as a critique of an existing state of affairs and an alternative that promises a new inclusive urban future. The paper argues that the right to the city approach is not that radical as it made out to be. The concerns raised by the approach are certainly valid. However, an attempt to contain those concerns in a framework of rights is problematic. It is more productive to think of a new approach based on a call to socialising the commons.