From Situationist Praxis to the Arab Spring: Social and Urban Challenges

Abstract

Introduction: The right to the city movement emerges as a response to the exclusionary urban policies that have characterised urban development in many parts of the world. This movement, driven by thinkers such as Guy Debord, Asger Jorn, Jane Jacobs, David Harvey and Henri Lefebvre, proposes a focus on human needs and community life in the shaping of urban spaces. Methodology: The analysis is based on a theoretical review of the fundamental ideas proposed by the movement's influential authors. It examines their critiques of unfavourable urban policies and their impact on urban and social environments. Results: The movement finds its strength in denouncing policies that prioritise profit over community needs. These practices have generated the degradation of neighbourhoods and socio-economic exclusion, evidencing the lack of inclusive urban planning. Conclusions: The theoretical underpinnings of the right to the city movement highlight the need to reorient urban policies towards inclusive models that promote diversity, neighbourhood solidarity and citizen participation as pillars for more equitable and sustainable urban environments.