El río y los derechos a la ciudad: el caso del río Monjas en Quito

Abstract

Every city in the world has settled around a river. Rivers have important functions for the human specie, such as providing us with water and food. However, rivers are now garbage dumps and polluted. Like river water, the safety and quality of life in cities is deteriorating. Law plays an important role in transforming rivers and cities. One innovative tool is the Right to the City. The Right to the City is a collective right that allows us to value and demand diverse, participatory, equitable and ecologically sustainable cities. The Constitutional Court of Ecuador, applying the Right to the City, has declared its violation by altering the flow and functions of a river and has found comprehensive and complex solutions to the problem of a polluted river, which bears the consequences of a poorly planned city.