Right to the city, human rights, and Canadian cities

Abstract

The idea of the right to the city, as conceived by Henri Lefebvre, raises questions of how or whether human rights intersect with cities. Can rights be used to implement Lefebvre’s notion? In Canada, federal and municipal governments are deploying human rights policies in combination with city planning to realize this right to the city. A fundamental question here is whether a difference exists between the right to the city and human rights in the city?