Right to the City in the Bahamas

Status of Law in the general legal framework

Consagración como derecho fundamental

No contemplada

Definition of Right

According to UN-Habitat, the Right to the City is the right of all people to inhabit, use, occupy, produce, transform, govern and enjoy just, inclusive, safe, sustainable and democratic cities, towns and urban settlements, defined as common goods for a dignified life.

The Right to the City is composed of 8 fundamental principles: 1) cities free of discrimination, 2) cities with gender equality, 3) cities of inclusive citizenship for all, 4) participatory cities, 5) accessible and affordable cities, 6) cities with quality public spaces and services, 7) cities with diverse and inclusive economies, and 8) sustainable cities with urban-rural linkages.

Several documents contribute to the understanding of the right to the city as a structural element to promote urban development policies aimed at building just, democratic and sustainable cities, such as the "World Charter for the Right to the City" (2005) and the New Urban Agenda (2016) of Habitat III.

Country

Bahamas

Action Area

Urban legal frameworks

External link

New Urban Agenda

World Charter for the Right to the City

Global Platform for the Right to the City

National institutions

Subnational and local institutions

MINURVI

International institutions

Marco Legal Nacional

Derechos reconocidos constitucionalmente relacionados con derecho a la Ciudad

Relating to property, including housing or land, the Constitution of the Bahamas guarantees the protection from deprivation of property and protection of person or property from arbitrary search or entry.

Art.21.1,2(a.i)

The 1973 Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas - Bahamas

(1) Except with his consent, no person shall be subjected to the search of his person or his property or the entry by others on his premises. (2) Nothing contained in or done under the authority of any law shall be held to be inconsistent with or in contravention of this Article to th...

Marco Legal Internacional

Tratados Internacionales vinculantes, vigentes y ratificados

No explicit recognition of the Right to the City by binding instruments ratified by the country was found.

However, several advances have been made that contribute to understanding the right to the city and its importance as a structural element for promoting urban development policies aimed at building just, democratic and sustainable cities. The Third World Social Forum (2003) culminated in the formulation and negotiation of a "World Charter for the Right to the City" (2005), an instrument aimed at contributing to urban struggles and to the process of recognition, in the international human rights system, of the right to the city.

With the objective of promoting and defending the fulfillment of the Right to the City at all levels, the Global Platform for the Right to the City (GPR2C) was launched in 2014, a network of more than 250 local, national, regional and international organizations committed to political action and social change for the implementation of the right.

The recognition of the Right to the City within the UN Habitat III negotiation process, culminating in the adoption of the New Urban Agenda (2016) is a very significant achievement. The NUA is the most important global guide to show clearly, how well-planned and managed urbanization can be a transformative force for accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).