Cultural policies, the right to the city and the right to difference: reflections on the Agenda 21 for culture

Contemporary cities are affected by numerous crises. Increasing social and cultural exclusion, the deprivation of basic rights, and the difficulty public authorities have addressing the structural roots of urban challenges and many other issues demand new policy approaches. They should take advantage of existing ways of thinking in different policy fields and in academic and grassroots communities, and develop more sophisticated paradigms that address the multidimensional nature of contemporary urban life.