The right to the city under pedestrian perspective: such a “safári urbano” experiment at Brasília

Abstract

The right to the mobility is related to the right to the city, since, in order to fully enjoy all the opportunities of urban life, and to transform it, it is essential to have conditions of physical access.
Especially when it comes to the right to the city from the perspective of pedestrians, since carrying out daily commutes on foot is the most basic and natural mode of individual mobility. Thus, however primitive and trivial it may seem, being a pedestrian can be considered a right of citizenship. Faced with the conditions of precariousness, insecurity and discomfort, in most cities exercising this right is increasingly performing such a safari. A safari reminds us of the adventure of exploring the territories that are generally wild, full of surprises and dangers. With this exploratory adventurous inspiration, the Safári Urbano is the adaptation of a method developed in the city of New York with the purpose of evaluating the urban environment
from the experience of the pedestrian. Conditions and perceptions of safety, accessibility, connectivity and environmental comfort, among others, are analysed and compared based on the experience, observation and records provided by the walk. In 2018, a group of people, heterogeneous in terms of age, gender and professional training, left in Safári trying out and evaluating the spaces of walkability in Brasilia. In this article, we seek to contextualize the right to the mobility as a subsidiary of the right to the city and discuss the results of the first application of the Safári Urbano in Brasilia in light of the pedestrian’s right to mobility.