Understanding the right to the city as the right to difference

This paper introduces some of the core ideas of this volume, elaborating on the right to the city from the viewpoint of the right to difference. The main question it tackles is how far the right to the city contains and can eventually convey the right to difference. This question is explored in theoretical terms, from a sociological perspective, drawing on selective empirical evidence. The paper is divided into three parts. The first part introduces the right to the city. The second part brings the right to difference into conversation with the right to the city and introduces the right to a different city as one way of understanding the right to the city as the right to difference. The third part reflects on agents, processes and issues involved in the realisation of the right to a different city.