Quotation archive
“The right to the city cannot be conceived of as a simple visiting right...”
Henri Lefebvre · Writings on Cities
Quote record
Author
Henri Lefebvre
Source
Writings on Cities
Chapter / location
The Right to the City, translated edition
Tradition
urban-ethics · city-life-and-urban-ethics · right-to-the-city-philosophy
Source information
From Writings on Cities, The Right to the City, translated edition.
Translation
English translation; consult the named source edition for the original wording.
Context
Read the contextual commentary in this archive entry.
Interpretation
Lefebvre on the Right to the City: verified evidence, objections, practical limits, and related urban ideas in a clear guide for careful research and comparison.
Knowledge network
Related Archive Records
Historical Context
Lefebvre on the Right to the City presents a short excerpt by Henri Lefebvre from Writings on Cities, located at The Right to the City, translated edition. 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 right to the city cannot be conceived of as a simple visiting right...” In the context of Lefebvre on the Right to 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
Lefebvre on the Right to 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 Bibliographic record for Writings on Cities 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 Lefebvre on the Right to the City is short translated excerpt; explain inhabitance/transformation and edition. 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.
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- thinker
Henri Lefebvre
Related through Right To The City Philosophy
- answer
What Is the Right to the City?
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- topic
Informal Settlements and the Right to the City
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- philosophy
Right to the City Philosophy
Related through urban-ethics
- topic
City Life and Urban Ethics
Related through urban-ethics
- thinker
David Harvey
Related through Right To The City Philosophy
- quote
Harvey on Remaking the City
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- book
Social Justice and the City
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Archive references
Sources
- 01Bibliographic record for Writings on CitiesBy OCLC WorldCatConsult 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