Consider the following statements : 1. 'Right to the City' is an agreed human right and the UN-Habitat monitors the commitments made by each country in this regard. 2. 'Right to the City' gives every occupant of the city the right to reclaim public spaces and public participation in the city. 3. 'Right to the City' means that the State cannot deny any public service or facility to the unauthorized colonies in the city. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 3 only
- (c) 1 and 2 ✓ UPSC's answer
- (d) 2 and 3
Why the answer is (c)
• 'Right to the City' (Henri Lefebvre, 1968) is the idea that all urban residents may shape, access and use the city and its public spaces and take part in its governance.
• Statement 2 is correct: it centres on reclaiming public spaces and public participation for every occupant.
• Statement 1 is treated as correct in the official key: the concept is embedded in the UN's New Urban Agenda (Habitat III, 2016), whose implementation UN-Habitat monitors and reports on.
• Statement 3 is wrong: it is a normative principle, not a binding legal entitlement that stops the State from withholding services to unauthorised colonies.
• Note: statement 1 is debatable — the right is not formally recognised in international human-rights law — but the key counts it.
• Hence 1 and 2, option (c).
Why the other options are wrong
- (a) 1 only
- Statement 2 is also correct: reclaiming public spaces and participation is the core of the idea.
- (b) 3 only
- Statement 3 is wrong: it does not legally bar denial of services.
- (d) 2 and 3
- Statement 3 is wrong; statement 1 is counted as correct.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2021, held on 10 October 2021. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.