5 minute read
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ
AMERICAN POLITICIAN AND ACTIVIST
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In writing this manifesto for a Just City, we prelude that cities are not just. But what exactly is meant by that? Cities have always been a reflection, but also a pioneer of social organisation. Without denying the negative sides of these organisations, cities in many cultures have in the past produced positive infrastructural and social organisations (Democracy in ancient Athens, urban water and agriculture in Tenochtitlán, knowledge centre Baghdad).
Nonetheless, in all these examples, it was always elites who oversaw change and took advantage of it.
Today, these elites (that are still influencing change) are not only political but also economic actors. Housing and real estate companies and planning offices usually act according to the principle of short-term maximum economic success and are staffed by people from the more privileged sectors of society, establishing existing patterns. This is one of the reasons why not only the richest, but also the poorest sections of the population are often concentrated in cities, and why the latter are often affected a lot more by crisis like climate change, global financial crisis, or pandemics.
In recognising the privilege of the elite, we must acknowledge our own. We want to use our position and also the privilege of knowing different cultural contexts to initiate a change. Although this voice strongly needs to be supplemented by those, actually being the victims of injustice in institutional, social or spatial structures, on global, national and local scales.
Correspondingly, this manifesto aims to define the visions of future urban space from our privileged roles and points of view as future urban researchers or designers. It details how we see the inclusive city of the future, how we want to change current and future developments and especially how we are going to design this process.
It further acts as a debate for a Just City, that has already been started by works such as the UN “New Urban Agenda” (UN 2017) or books like “The Right to the City” (Lefebvre 1968) . We all need to fight for social justice, it’s a matter of human rights and also of fighting polarisation and rising populism. We call for several points to fortify this aim and make cities fairer, whether for it’s people, it’s climate or it’s environment.
THERE IS A RIGHT TO THE
CITY FOR EVERYONE
Rural areas enjoy the right to ownership of an abundance of space, while discarding the abundance of services and goods. The Just Cities of tomorrow should provide their inhabitants with the freedom not only “to own but also the freedom to not own (cars, land etc.)” (2bAhead Website). Access to Urbanity is a right for all, as well as the recognition that there should be the right to participation in the city for everyone. A move away from “citizens only” is a move for justice.
The Welfare state needs to grow to incorporate new definitions of solidarity. This includes the recognition of all people as residents, regardless their origins, social class, ethnics, etc.; as a prerequisite to achieve solidarity in our societies. Leading to the need, for housing being further controlled, to (amongst other reasons) relief biases arising from individual renters.
Further, we must see and accept that informal structures also have positive aspects to be learned from (Slums and community or walkability). This acceptance can relieve the hypocritical imbalance of governments profiting off informal work. With this, we can ask ourselves, how will we handle slum in urban development? Giving it a legal base? Base urban development on existing structures?
PLANNING THE JUST CITY HAS
DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES
We need empathy in urban planning. For people and their needs, whether in the master plan or the process of creating and participating in it. For different local and cultural contexts.
We need to see temporal justice. The question of justice is in general a question of perspective. It is ever-evolving; therefore, self-reflection is necessary.
A Just City is globally connected and tries to seek solutions by cooperation with other cities. We therefore truly believe that this goes both ways, especially since a lot of cities in the Global South already have a history of reacting to problems like pandemics, climate change, mobility problems, or vulnerability. In answering these issues, Mediators and Visionaries are the roles planners should, and have the responsibility to, take on in the creation of future cities.
THE PROCESS OF PLANNING
JUSTICE INCLUDES…
Collaboration amongst actors in the field and through the users of the space. Bottom-up perspectives and opportunities which should be included and fostered throughout.
who recognise their differences but at the same time are aware of their common rights as human beings. They recognise sharing a future and therefore must share the planning of their cities.
INSTITUTIONS AS DRIVERS OF
CHANGE NEED TO CHANGE
THEMSELVES
Governments – given a privileged role in urban spaces – need to notice their influence on existing disparities.
Equality in priority of neighbourhood development or even higher priority to development of segregated urban districts without endangering tenancy or ownership is necessary. The perspective or residential segregation and environmental injustice needs to be acknowledged.
Strengthening and restructuring of ownership of economically weaker groups should be initiated. These changes should strongly influence the city on the real estate market and social distribution of housing.
Councils to initiate a change away from discriminations (such as feminism concepts, antiracism concepts, disability- and age-appropriate approaches...) are required – this would help the growth of concepts for all cities and all population groups and the restructuring of municipal governments. A possibility could be citizen councils of randomly selected people from all social groups, in various scales - giving bottom up a legal base. This is a move away from stigmatisation and polarisation of city spaces against each other. References
2bAhead (website): “Die Digitale Stadt der Zukunft braucht digitale Bürger.” https://www.zukunft.business/foresight/trendanalysen/analyse/ die-digitale-stadt-der-zukunft-braucht-digitale-buerger/ accessed 01.12.2020.
Lefebvre, H. (1968). Le droit á la ville. Paris: Anthropos.
United Nations (UN)(2017): New Urban Agenda. Final paper of Habitat III conference on housing and sustainable urban development in Quito, Ecuador.
