The right to the city as a right of collective incidence

Abstract

This article examines the configuration of the “right to the city” as a right of collective incidence within the framework of Argentine law. Building on Henri Lefebvre’s theoretical contributions and various international and regional instruments, the paper analyzes the complex, multidimensional, and cross-cutting nature of this right. Although it has not yet received national legislative recognition, the right to the city has begun to emerge in local and provincial regulations, particularly in connection with the right to housing, urban planning, and equitable development. The authors argue that the right to the city meets the doctrinal and jurisprudential criteria to be considered a right of collective incidence—namely, a supra-individual right that protects common, indivisible, and publicly relevant goods. The article also discusses collective harm as a specific legal category through which the right to the city can be infringed, situating it within the broader framework of tort law. Two court decisions—in Corrientes and Mendoza—are analyzed as case studies that explicitly recognize the right to the city as a valid foundation for judicial protection. The article concludes that the effective protection of the right to the city requires recognizing its collective dimension and enabling appropriate judicial mechanisms to face its violations.