Discussions on the Role of Civil Society in Securing the “Right to the City”

ANA LOURDES SUÁREZ, ANN MITCHELL, EDUARDO LÉPORE, JIMENA MACCIÓ Y SILVIA LÉPORE

The University of Jordan

Congreso; Human Development and Capability Association "Human Rights and Human Development; 2010

Human Development Capability Approach Association

The objective of the paper is to develop a theoretical framework for understanding the role and impact of civil society organizations (CSOs) operating in extremely poor urban areas. This framework integrates the Human Development and Capabilities Approach (HDCA) with the concept of the “right to the city.” We frame both approaches within the theoretical and applied research on the reproduction and exacerbation of poverty and social exclusion within poor, segregated communities, and the study of the role and impact of third sector organizations. By integrating these different approaches, we seek to lay out the conceptual framework that will be used to guide a research project we are about to undertake in poor urban slums of Buenos Aires. This research project aims to both enrich the understanding and improve the effectiveness of civil society organizations that operate in highly vulnerable areas of the city, thereby contributing to human development and the fulfilment of basic human rights.             The paper addresses questions such as: How do civil society organizations contribute to guaranteeing the right to the city? What is the relationship between civil society organizations and the state? Which types of state-civil society relationships are most effective in expanding the capabilities and agency of the poor?  What is the role of the market? Who has the responsibility for guaranteeing the right to the city?  Are CSOs especially favourable (or not) to the empowerment of the residentially segregated? If they are, which capabilities are best developed by CSO interventions?             The structure of the paper is as follows. In the first section, we review the concepts of capabilities and agency which we believe to be essential for understanding how civil society organizations contribute to human development. In the second section, we attempt to integrate the Human Development and Capabilities Approach with the concept of the right to the city. The integration of these two approaches presents an opportunity to analyze the civic rights and responsibilities of all agents involved (market, state, civil society, individual). In the third section, we analyze the role of the civil society in securing the right to the city. In the fourth section we consider the different types of relationships that arise between the state and CSOs. Here we consider synergic relations characterized by either complementarity or embeddedness and study the assignment of responsibility to different agents. In section five, we evaluate the responsibility of individuals by analyzing how civil society organizations contribute to human development. In the last section, we conclude.