107
Vast, impersonal malls serve the
interests of consumer capitalism.
The construction of such spaces often
leads to the displacement of the area’s
original, working-class residents.See also: Karl Marx 28–31 ■ Ferdinand Tönnies 32–33 ■ Peter Townsend 74 ■ Elijah Anderson 82–83 ■
Georg Simmel 104–05 ■ Jane Jacobs 108–09 ■ Amitai Etizoni 112–19 ■ Sharon Zukin 128–31 ■ Saskia Sassen 164–65
MODERN LIVING
the fact that it is an environment
that both reflects and creates
society. Applying a Marxist
perspective to his analysis,
Lefebvre also says that urban
spaces are shaped by the state
and serve the interests of powerful
corporations and capitalism. Parts
of the city mirror the class relations
contained within it: the opulence
of some areas reveals the power
and wealth of elites, while run-
down inner-city areas and ghettos
outside the center indicate the
displacement and marginalization
of the poor, the working class, and
other excluded groups.
Public and private
Many modern cities, for example,
have become dominated by private
spaces, such as shopping malls
and office complexes, built in the
service of capitalism. The loss of
public space has severely restricted
the arenas in which people can
meet on an equal footing with
others, so eroding their personal
freedoms and stifling their means
to satisfy their social and
psychological needs. This can lead
to serious social problems, such as
crime, depression, homelessness,
social exclusion, and poverty.
Considerable power is wielded by
those who own and control urban
spaces—architects, planners,
“the merchant bourgeoisie, the
intellectuals, and politicians,”
according to Lefebvre. But he
believes that decisions about
the exact nature of the urban
environment—what takes place
in it, how social space is built
and used—should be open to all.
Ordinary people should participate
in creating a space that reflects
their needs and interests—only by
claiming this “right to the city” can
major social issues be addressed.Lefebvre’s vision is of cities that
pulse with life and are vibrant
expressions of human freedom and
creativity, where people can play,
explore their creative and artistic
needs, and achieve some form of
self-realization. City streets should,
he says, be designed to encourage
this type of existence—they may
be raw, exciting, and untamed but
precisely because of this they will
remind people that they are alive.
Lefebvre’s demand for the right to
the city is not simply a call for a
series of reforms but for a wholesale
transformation of social relations
within the city, if not wider society—
it is, in essence, a proposal for a
radical form of democracy, whereby
control is wrested from elites and
turned over to the masses. This, he
says, is only achievable by groups
and class factions “capable of
revolutionary initiative.” ■Henri Lefebvre
Marxist sociologist and
philosopher Henri Lefebvre was
born in Hagetmau, France, in- He studied philosophy at
the Sorbonne, Paris, graduating
in 1920. He joined the French
Communist Party in 1928
and became one of the most
prominent Marxist intellectuals
in France. He was, however,
later expelled by the Communist
Party and became one of its
fiercest critics. In 1961 he was
appointed professor of sociology
at the University of Strasbourg,
before moving to Nanterre in- Lefebvre was a prolific
writer on a wide range of
subjects. His work challenged
the dominant capitalist
authorities and as such was not
always well received, but has
gone on to influence several
disciplines, including geography,
philosophy, sociology, political
science, and architecture.
Key works1968 Right to the City
1970 The Urban Revolution
1974 The Production of Space