RETHINKING THE NEXUS OF LAW, SPACE AND JUSTICE: PROTECTING THE PROPERTY INTERESTS OF THE POOR IN THE LATE CAPITALIST CITY

Abstract

This paper follows up on an article entitled ‘La tutela degli interessi dei poveri nella città tardo-capitalista’, part of a volume collecting the proceedings of a conference organised at University of Ferrara, Department of Law in October 2018. Its aim is to offer a theoretical framework as well as an array of legal mechanisms protecting the interests of the urban poor in the late capitalist urban context. After introducing touristification as a widespread mode of value extraction from contemporary cities, the approach of Critical Legal Studies is taken into consideration, as it allows to frame law as a battleground for social conflict and urban space as a scenario in which it is possible to reclaim a common property interest of the have-nots. The following section includes a set of legal mechanisms available in private, public, and hybrid private-public law, which can be used to protect the property interests of the poor. In the conclusion, the potential of urban planning as an arena in which the urban poor’s prerogatives can shape policy- and law-making is investigated through the analysis of a case study.