Significance and analysis
Human rights & international legal norms
Interdependence: violations of human in urban environments involve intersecting problems that illustrate the interdependence of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights
Meaningful public participation: engaging marginalized populations requires a process that meets people where they are and builds trust through collaboration
Effective remedies: people’s social networks and community relationships provide opportunities to define remedies and fulfill human rights obligations
Urban environments: safe, reliable public transportation and well-lit, clean public space are key components of how human rights can be realized on the local level.
“At the Bronx river bridge they don’t have a lot of lights, so when you are waiting for the bus to cross the bridge you have to wait a long time for the bus, and if you decide to walk there are people waiting for you around the corner to rob you.”
“The crazy thing about here too is I feel like the shootings bring people together, which is a weird thing because, like again, someone just got shot, and then people in the middle standing there together saying, ‘oh, we need to stop this, we need to get better,’ and they say that, and then it’s like, again, and it happens again, and um, I don’t know how to really explain it. It’s different out here. Like, a shooting will bring people together, make them talk.”
Public space and urban infrastructure
Public spaces shape how people experience marginalization and disempowerment on a daily basis
Dense urban environments mean that people’s lives are entwined along spatial as well as social lines
A city’s geography incorporates and produces multiple forms of systemic injustice
“I always have to look over to my shoulder to make sure no man is following me or acting creepy. I am so exhausted of having to choose what to wear, to make sure nobody is endangering my safety.”
“I was about like ten years old and I, there was somebody — there was a shooting on my block, and I actually saw the guy get shot, and I remember being at the window and my dad having to grab me and pull me away from the window. Because me being naive, I wanna see what’s going on. You know, there’s a bunch of yelling and you see everybody running in one direction, it’s intriguing, so you know, I was looking, and I remember my dad pulling me away from the window and stuff like that.”
“The worst thing is... giving yourself like an extra 30 min so you can get to class on time, and then you end up being stuck and delayed for a whole hour... You’re stuck on the train with people that are being loud, people that smell, people—not saying like, there’s anything wrong with kids, but there’s one thing if you’re just on the train, and they won’t stop crying and yelling, and it’s just like I had this kid next to me that kept kicking me.”
Law in everyday life
Stories about displacement reflect disempowerment associated with law’s hegemonic power.
People’s relationships with family, friends, and communities shapes their understanding and engagement with law and legality
Resistance to law’s hegemony is visible in stories about everyday life
“The captain of my building, on the main floor, her son was a big time drug dealer in the neighborhood, and there was one night, there was a big shootout and the cops wouldn’t come in for nothing, because my mom was dating a cop at the time, and I remember, like, after the shoot out, he told her, ‘we don’t go in there until they’re all done.’ You know? So, that’s a big deal.
And I understand that because you’ve got bullets just flying all over the place, I don’t think you’re trying to just walk into that and play hero. At the same time, that is probably the problem, where it’s like ok, we’re just going to wait until everybody’s done and then go pick up the bodies, you know?”