Η Αντιστροφή του “Δικαιώματος στην Πόλη”: η Αθήνα Στην Εποχή της Κρίσης (The 'Right to the City' reversed: Athens during a crisis era

In 1968, Henri Lefebvre wrote the Right to the City, where he highlighted urban space as both a site of collective life and a terrain of emancipation and subversion. Since then, the concept of the "right to the city" has inspired scholars and activists like Castells, Harvey, Soja, Marcuse, Mayer, and Smith, becoming a rallying point for social movements and urban revolts in various parts of the world. Today, 45 years after the first edition, the political party governing the municipality of Athens—a capital at the heart of crisis—bears the name Right to the City. Although this party has adopted elements of Lefebvre’s rhetoric, such as the concept of the "city-oevre" we argue that since its election, it has implemented a political agenda that represents a distorted version of the notion. This paper begins by exploring Lefebvre’s original concept of the right to the city and then examines the urban policies enacted under its guise, which shape daily life in contemporary Athens. Additionally, we employ the Marxian concepts of "use value" and "exchange value" to uncover the limitations and contradictions within the current interpretation of the right to the city. In doing so, we argue that the municipality’s use of radical rhetoric does not lead to emancipatory urban policies; instead, it serves to obscure policies that are unfavorable, especially in the context of the crisis. Finally, drawing inspiration from the work of Harvey, de Souza, and Pasquinelli, we analyze contemporary urban movements that not only demand rights from governing authorities but also actively occupy and reshape the "city of crisis."