The Urban Movements Debate from Right to the City to Commons: Limits and Possibilities

Abstract

In the last 15 years many cities in different parts of the world have witnessed various facets of neoliberal urban restructuring from top-down gentrification projects to mass housing projects causing a real estate bubble and the eviction of present dwellers. The response has often been street protests and other activities initiated by the dwellers. The same sort of eviction processes have been seen across the world followed by the widespread privatization of common lands. The Occupy Movements have reacted to the privatization of common lands in many cities of the world. This paper is an analysis of the theoretical background of such movements and a discussion of the limits and possibilities of the Right to the City (RTC) and Commons literature. The aim of the article is to contribute to the literature of critical urban studies by analyzing different interpretations and providing an overview of how these varied conceptualizations shape activism.