Right to the City

BUILDING 21ST CENTURY CITIES

We hold urban congresses in different cities so that stakeholders can share models and strategies for organizing in their city. RTTC member groups are building a dynamic municipal front with the involvement of social justice organizations, environmental groups, research think tanks, and labor to create a sustainable 21st century city. Our goal is to build a city where tenants, homeowners, youth, women, workers, citizens and immigrants are respected and can meaningfully participate in a democratic process, shape the development plan for their city, live in a healthy environment, and have access to quality jobs and housing. The 21st Century Cities Campaign coordinates trans-local work groups, profiles member victories and experimentation to promote solutions to the economic crisis at the national level and shares organizing models and resources so that new member groups and allies can move this vision forward.

Housing and Land

Foreclosure Organizing, Tenants' Rights and Bank Accountability
Another thread of this work focuses on expanding foreclosure organizing across the country and developing transformative demands and institutions that will allow communities, not banks, to control land and housing.

For more information on building 21st century cities, housing and foreclosure organizing, transformative demands and RTC urban strategies process contact Tony at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Transformative Demands Committee 

The purpose of the transformative demands group is to have our member groups develop a document that documents both transformative demands to acquiring land and housing for the public good and actions that residents can take to confront capitalism and fundamentally change their lives. As stated by Marcuse, "Transformative claims seek to address the underlying systemic causes of inequities and injustices, looking comprehensively at the root causes of a particular problem but also at the systemic and institutional factors that nurture it. Their criteria are first and foremost meeting human needs, only secondarily merit or performance. They seek to meet the criteria suggested above, as to relations of power, depth of analysis, breadth of analysis, and satisfaction of needs. They are system challenging. They may include, in practice, liberal and radical proposals, but argue explicitly that their necessary ultimate goal goes beyond these and must be full transformation. "

For more information on the transformative demands team contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Civic Engagement

Right to the City facilitates cross-region learning and strategizing for organizations who have integrated civic engagement into their work. In all our cities, organizations are building power bases that unite the new urban majority — with millions of women, immigrants, African Americans, working class and poor people of color, and LGTBQ communities engaging in radical democratic participation and voter organizing. Our member groups use cutting edge technologies, expert data analysis, strategic communications and are innovating new best practices to mobilize voters around issues and policies that are core to their communities. RTC is prioritizing municipal campaigns to develop workable 21st Century solutions through practices such as participatory budgeting, civilian review of local police, and the fight for quality, affordable housing asa defining, basic right.

For more information or to join the CE Work Group contact Luz Schreiber at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Ecojustice 

Having a plan for a city that honors and protects nature is a global necessity. When member organizations participate in local actions to build urban gardens, fight unhealthy or unsanitary living conditions, create food cooperatives and point out racist practices in city development they are struggling to build the world in which they want to breathe and one that is sustainable for people and the planet. The RTC eco-justice work group weaves the focus on ecology and energy alternatives with the lived realities of working class communities and communities of color across issues and regions to develop policies and practices that can help lead to a good, healthy life for all.

For more information on ecojustice contact Kalila Barnett at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Boston and Los Angeles Regional Organizing

Organizations in RTTC Boston and Los Angeles are serving as a national model due to their higher level of cohesion and cooperation as a city and their common political values.

For more information on organizing in the Boston region contact Lisette at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

For more information on organizing in the LA region contact Paulina Gonzalez at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.