The right to the city : an exploration of citizenship, space, and process in São Paulo and Cape Town

This study is an exploration of the tension between the right to the city and neoliberalism in São Paulo and Cape Town. The right to the city is the right to participate in the use and production of urban spaces. It is framed as a place based right that guarantees spatially and socioeconomically marginalized citizens a seat at the table where decisions are made, valuing their voice in the creation of the cities they live in. Using three public spaces in each city as case studies, I demonstrate how privatizing development keeps the right to the city from being realized by minimizing citizen power. The case studies interrogate where the right to the city will come from and how it will work