Rights and the City takes stock of rights struggles and progress in cities by exploring the tensions that exist between different concepts of rights. Sandeep Agrawal and the volume’s contributors expose the paradoxes that planners and municipal governments face when attempting not only to combat discriminatory practices, but also advance a human rights agenda. The authors examine the legal, conceptual, and philosophical aspects of rights, including its various forms—human, Indigenous, housing, property rights, and various other forms of rights. Using empirical evidence and examples, they translate the philosophical and legal aspects of rights into more practical terms and applications. Regionally, the book draws on municipalities from across Canada while also making broad international comparisons. Scholars, policy makers, and activists with an interest in urban studies, planning, and law will find much of value throughout this volume. Afterword by Benjamin Davy.

Contributors: Sandeep Agrawal, Rachelle Alterman, Sasha Best, Alexandra Flynn, Eran S. Kaplinsky, Ola P. Malik, Jennifer A. Orange, Michelle L. Oren, Renée Vaugeois. Afterword by Benjamin Davy

Sandeep Agrawal is an internationally-recognized Canadian scholar of urban planning whose research focuses on local governance, human and Indigenous rights, migration, and energy transition. He is a Professor at the University of Alberta.

Sandeep Agrawal's profile page

“In Rights and the City, editor Sandeep Agrawal, professor of urban planning at the University of Alberta, uses the influential theories of Henri Lefebvre, a French philosopher and sociologist, to organize this collection and to illustrate the way ahead in order for our rights to and in cities to become truly entrenched.” Ximena Gonzales, Alberta Views, April 26, 2023 [Full review at https://albertaviews.ca/rights-and-the-city/]

“In my view, the main contribution of the volume … is to bring renewed attention to the relevance of legal rights in the realm of urban planning and politics, as well as to illustrate how they can serve to disadvantage or push for the protection of already marginalized groups in society in practical terms. To do this, the book offers well-researched examples, most of which show how these debates unfold at the municipal level. This approach will be especially useful for readers and practitioners whose work lies at the intersection of policy analysis, program design, and planning through a rights-based lens.” Magdelana Ugarte, Canadian Planning and Policy, Volume 2023

"This book is a collection of essays on the subject of human rights and cities with an emphasis on Canadian cities. ...this collection is worth reading." W. Dennis Keating, Journal of Urban Affairs, May 17, 2023 (Full review at: https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2023.2195779)

“Rights and the City provides a nuanced understanding of the ethical dilemmas and trade-offs that state and local governments endure in the process of changing their legal-institutional frameworks to enforce human rights.” —Ana Paula Pimentel Walker, University of Michigan