This week’s post for the ATS Blog is authored by João Mourato, Assistant-researcher at ICS-ULisboa and vice-coordinator of Observa.

“Born out of the Situationist movement, Henri Lefebvre 1967’s le droit à la ville has grown into a global catchphrase, juggled by politicians, policymakers and activists alike. As David Harvey puts it, as a concept its appeal is intuitive its meaning elastic. It is an empty signifier, everything depends on who gets to fill it with meaning. The right to the city reads both as a cry and a demand, a working slogan and a political ideal in Lefebvre’s own words.”