Quotation archive
“The freedom to make and remake our cities and ourselves is ... one of the most precious ... human rights.”
David Harvey · The Right to the City
Quote record
Author
David Harvey
Source
The Right to the City
Chapter / location
New Left Review 53 (2008), opening paragraph
Tradition
urban-ethics · city-life-and-urban-ethics · right-to-the-city-philosophy
Source information
From The Right to the City, New Left Review 53 (2008), opening paragraph.
Translation
English translation; consult the named source edition for the original wording.
Context
Read the contextual commentary in this archive entry.
Interpretation
Harvey on Remaking the City: verified evidence, ethical stakes, objections, practical limits, policy context, and related urban ideas in a clear, sourced guide.
Knowledge network
Related Archive Records
Historical Context
Harvey on Remaking the City presents a short excerpt by David Harvey from The Right to the City, located at New Left Review 53 (2008), opening paragraph. The wording is reproduced only in the verified form recorded above. Its date, document type, and surrounding argument matter: this is evidence of what the speaker or institution said, not proof that the urban aspiration described has been achieved.
Meaning
The excerpt's central idea is “the freedom to make and remake our cities and ourselves is ... one of the most precious ... human rights.” In the context of Harvey on Remaking the City, the wording directs attention to who can create, inhabit, access, or transform urban life. The interpretation should remain close to the quoted terms and should not silently convert a political vision, scholarly argument, or institutional target into a universal legal rule.
Philosophical Interpretation
Harvey on Remaking the City can be read through democratic participation, rights, capabilities, and spatial justice. The passage asks readers to connect city form with human agency and unequal power, while The Right to the City and New Urban Agenda supply an institutional comparison. Its philosophical value lies in framing a problem for judgment; the excerpt cannot replace evidence about present conditions.
Interpretive Limit
The controlling boundary for Harvey on Remaking the City is preserve ellipses; distinguish harvey's argument from treaty law. This qualification prevents the excerpt from being used as a free-floating slogan. Readers should consult the named work, preserve the edition or paragraph location, and distinguish interpretation from attribution before carrying the quotation into another debate.
Learning Path
Part of a Structured Collection
Continue Learning
Knowledge NetworkNext Step
Continue your learning path
- thinker
David Harvey
Related through Right To The City Philosophy
- answer
What Is the Right to the City?
Related through Right To The City Philosophy
- topic
Informal Settlements and the Right to the City
Related through Right To The City Philosophy
- philosophy
Right to the City Philosophy
Related through urban-ethics
- answer
Are Gated Communities Ethical?
Related through urban-ethics
- topic
City Life and Urban Ethics
Related through urban-ethics
- topic
Segregation Redlining and Spatial Justice
Related through urban-ethics
- philosophy
Spatial Justice
Related through urban-ethics
Archive references
Sources
- 01The Right to the CityBy David HarveyConsult source
- 02New Urban AgendaBy United Nations Human Settlements ProgrammeConsult source
- 03World Cities ReportBy United Nations Human Settlements ProgrammeConsult source
Source and quality checks completed
Quality check completed 2026-08-26