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GPR2C Newsletter / March 2022 |
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Dear friends,
The Global Platform for the Right to the City (GPR2C) started 2023 with big commitments and political actions for climate justice, the commons, feminist urbanism and the right to the city.
This newsletter highlights strategic planning meetings, work in the areas of advocacy and communication, as well as an agenda of key upcoming strategic spaces. We look forward to counting on your engagement to keep on advancing on the Right to the City in 2023.
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The year began with enriching meetings to align plans and strategies and strengthen our network of civil society organizations and local governments in planning a new year of political action and social transformation through the promotion, defense and realization of the right to the city at local, national and global levels.
To this end, Lorena Zarate, co-coordinator of the GPR2C participated in the UCLG Annual Retreat (Barcelona, 22-24 February), to facilitate the debate on “ The Commons as a key component of the Pact for the Future“. This space builds upon the Town Hall on the Commons, a year-long effort that resulted in the policy paper on the Commons released at the 2022 UCLG Congress, which includes key definitions, examples and recommendations to foster commoning practices that advance municipalist and right to the city agendas. As every year, the GPR2C support team met (São Paulo, 5-10 March) to set the thematic priorities and outline the annual action plan. This year, thanks to the new MISEREOR-supported project “Right to the City for All. Advancing socio-spatial equity and environmental justice”, we are pleased to strengthen the collaboration with member organisations Kota Kita (Indonesia), Development Workshop (Angola) and Polis Institute (Brazil).
In addition, the first advocacy and communications working groups meetings were held with the objective of sharing and aligning our plans and campaigns for 2023.
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The advocacy work for this year has as thematic priorities to contribute to climate justice and socio-spatial equality; to put the commons at the centre of municipalist and the right to the city agendas; and to strengthen feminist urbanism and caring cities, all of this under the framework of advancing the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and Agenda 2030, especially through SDG 11. These priorities will be taken to the strategic advocacy spaces listed in the agenda (see below), among others:
Beyond these strategic spaces, the GPR2C will keep on working with its members and allies on the advancement of the Right to the City through community initiatives and municipal policies, through research and advocacy tools and efforts such as the Right to the City Indicators for municipal policies. We look forward to joining forces with members and allies to make our voices heard.
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The communication work aims to support the advocacy strategy, mobilise the movement for the right to the city and raise awareness and knowledge of this right. The communication working group launched the campaign for International Women’s Day (8 March) to give visibility to the Women’s Right to the City Manifesto to challenge the omission of women in city planning and to recognise their fundamental role in building a just and inclusive social transformation. This Manifesto was taken to the 67th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women and UCLG Local and Regional Governments’ Day (7 March). The next campaign will be during the UN-Habitat Assembly to reposition the debate on the right to the city and advocate for the NUA and the UN-Habitat strategic plan. Stay tuned!
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Thank you for your support Let’s keep fighting for a Right to the City for all!
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Second UN Habitat Assembly (5-9 June, Nairobi), to reposition the
debate on the right to the city and advocate for the NUA and the UN-Habitat strategic plan; |
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International Housing Festival (7-9 June, Barcelona), to share social housing policies from below, to advance housing justice together with social movements and organizations; |
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High-Level Political Forum (10-19 July, New York and online), where SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation, SDG 7 on affordable and clean energy, SDG 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructure, SDG 11 on sustainable cities and communities, and SDG 17 on partnerships for the Goals will be reviewed; |
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SDG Summit, which will review the implementation of the 2030 Agenda commitments so far and produce a political declaration; |
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Urban October and World Day for the Right to the City (2-31
October, global), an opportunity to raise our voices about our struggles and initiatives and to join forces for a better world |
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UN Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP 28) (30 November – 12 December, Dubai), to put people and planet at the centre of the agenda. |
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“The Right to the City is the right of all inhabitants, present and future,
permanent and temporary to use, occupy and produce just, inclusive and
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