UPSC Prelims 2021 Question:

Consider the following statements

1. ‘Right to the City’ is an agreed human right and the UN-Habitat monitors the commitments made by each country in this regard.
2. ‘Right to the City’ gives every occupant of the city the right to reclaim public spaces and public participation in the city.
3. ‘Right to the City’ means that the State cannot deny any public service or facility to the unauthorized colonies in the city.
   
   

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Explanation:

• The ‘Right to the City (RTC)’ is not agreed as a human right by all countries yet. In 2016, India had objected to the draft New Urban Agenda's proposal to include the Right to the City in defining how cities worldwide will develop over the following two decades. Following negotiations, the revised draft agenda stated that states, “Cities for all is also recognised as the Right to the City in some countries, based on a people-centered vision of cities as places that strive to guarantee a decent and full life for all inhabitants.” So, statement 1 is not correct.
  • As the UN focal point for sustainable urbanization and human settlements, UN-Habitat has been designated as a custodian agency for 9 of the 15 indicators under SDG 11:  Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
    
    
• The Right to the City means the right to reclaim public spaces, public participation in the city and more importantly the right to housing and basic amenities. It signals a fundamentally different approach to the city which is bottom-up and citizen centric. It focuses on the public contest between private and corporate takeover of public spaces. So, statement 2 is correct.
  
  
• The Right to the City (RTC) recognises equal access to urban life as a basic human right for all including migrants, slum dwellers and the homeless. RTC gives every occupant, irrespective of their legality, a claim over the city. It requires the State to act on the principles of social justice and provide equal services to each and every resident. So, statement 3 is correct.
  
  

Therefore, option (4) is the correct answer.

Subject: Polity | International Relations