World Charter of the Rights to the City and the Bush Administration attitude towards U.S. Cities

Right now on the pro-urb@listserv.uga.edu discussion group there is a discussion on creating an "Urban Bill of Rights." Someone mentioned the World Charter on the Right to the City, so I looked it up and it's pretty interesting

The Third World Institute is an organization that is working on this (and other issues). Their page on the charter is online here (http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/2243.html) and they describe "The Right to the City is defined as the equitable enjoyment of the city by all its inhabitants while respecting the need of sustainability and social justice so that the primary object of achieving an adequate standard of living for all is attained."

There's a lot to consider. Here's the organization of the charter, which I recommend reading:

Part 1 – General Dispositions
ARTICLE 1 – THE RIGHT TO THE CITY
ARTICLE II – PRINCIPLES OF THE RIGHT TO THE CITY
- 1. DEMOCRATIC MANAGEMENT OF THE CITY
- 2. THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF THE CITY
- 3. THE SOCIAL FUCTION OF THE PROPERTY
- 4. FULL EXERCISE OF CITIZENSHIP
- 5. EQUALITY AND NON-DISCRIMINATION
- 6. SPECIAL PROTECTION FOR VULNERABLE PERSONS AND GROUPS
- 7. THE PRIVATE SECTOR´S SOCIAL UNDERTAKING
- 8. ECONOMIC SOLIDARITY AND PROGRESSIVE POLICIES

Part II – Rights relating to the Management of Cities
ARTICLE III - SUSTAINABLE AND EQUITABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT
ARTICLE IV – PARTICIPATION IN THE DESIGN OF THE CITY BUDGET
ARTICLE V. TRANSPARENCY IN MANAGEMENT OF THE CITY
ARTICLE VI. - RIGHT TO PUBLIC INFORMATION

Part III. Civil and Political Rights of the City
ARTICLE VII. LIBERTY AND INTEGRITY
ARTICLE VIII. POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
ARTICLE IX. RIGHT OF ASSOCIATION, ASSEMBLY, EXPRESSION AND THE DEMOCRATIC USE OF URBAN PUBLIC SPACE
ARTICLE X – RIGHT TO JUSTICE
ARTICLE XI. THE RIGHT TO THE PUBLIC SECURITY AND TO COEXISTENCE BASED ON PEACE, SOLIDARITY AND MULTICULTURALISM

Part IV. Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights of the Cities.

ARTICLE XII. ACCESS TO AND SUPPLY OF DOMESTIC AND URBAN PUBLIC SERVICES
ARTICLE XIII. RIGHT TO TRANSPORT AND PUBLIC MOBILITY
ARTICLE XIV. THE RIGHT TO HOUSING
ARTICLE XV. THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION
ARTICLE XVI. THE RIGHT TO WORK
ARTICLE XVII. THE RIGHT TO CULTURE AND LEISURE
ARTICLE XVIII – THE RIGHT TO HEALTH
ARTICLE XIX – THE RIGHT TO THE ENVIRONMENT

Part V - Final dispositions

ARTICLE XX - MEASURES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CITY
ARTICLE XXI – THE VIOLATION OF THE RIGHT TO THE CITY
ARTICLE XXII – EXEGIBILITY OF THE RIGHT TO THE CITY
ARTICLE XXIII – COMMITMENTS WITH THE CHAPTER OF THE RIGHT TO THE CITY

By the way, hasn't it been awhile since you've read the U.S. Constitution?

Tthe Bush Administration proposes major cuts in community development (www.hud.gov) and other pro-urbanity programs such as Amtrak (see www.narprail.org for the National Association of Rail Passengers).

I think of it as a "Screw you, you're not part of our base" aspect of partisan politics. A good article about the federal budget, with associated links and graphics, is online at the Washington Post, but you'll have to be sure you've registered.

While with organizing and the like, these programs are likely to continue on, bringing back the same proposals for cuts and eliminations eventually leads to cuts and eliminations due to "fatigue" on the part of legislators.