ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to provide an insight into the contested relationship between privacy and participation. It reviews the discourse surrounding the “right to the city” as advocated by Henri Lefebvre and David Harvey, and looks at the way in which the increasing privatisation of urban space has affected our participation. Traditional conceptions of rights date back to the eighteenth century, and in particular to Rousseau’s theory of the social contract. Yet, to participate, an individual must relinquish certain aspects of her right to a private life and accept that her acts may intrude on the privacy of others. The chapter argues that even though there are real concerns about our ability to participate and the use of public space, urban law should take more account of the importance of the private sphere and the concept of home.
