POSITIONING – Politics, Economics, Global Change   

Our contemporary politics are increasingly referred to as ‘post-truth’, expressing concerns about a vanishing shared public truth. Giving less value to facts or scientific findings, the individual interpretation of truth gains more importance, undermining established democratic frameworks. 

As one of few globally acknowledged frameworks established by the International Community, the Human Rights are universal and legally binding across the world, emphasising the empowerment of the people to be central to national political decision-making. While committed to the Human Rights Based Approach, in countries worldwide their status seems subject to political positioning.   

Positioning  – as in: placing value, locating strategically, situating oneself to execute, expressing a view, making a proposition.   

Through urban development plans, governments seek to achieve economic prosperity and quality of life, while meeting the Human Rights. Urban politics play a central role amid global developments, as cities host the majority of the global population and are the economic and creative hubs of most nations worldwide.

What is the status of the Human Rights Based Approach in the urban developments, as frameworks are weakened, even though we have access to global knowledge and information? Amid these wide ranging questions, the course takes some key areas of human rights amid urban politics, investigating them through the urban lens of Vienna, among others through the themes of  'Democratic Participation', 'Art, Culture, and Public Space', ‘Housing', and ‘Safety’.