The City is For All

The City is For All, known in Hungarian as A Város Mindenkié, is a volunteer-led grassroots organization working on housing rights and social justice in Hungary. Its principal activity is in Budapest, with a related group also operating in Pécs. The organization brings together people who are currently homeless or have experienced homelessness with people who are not homeless. People with lived experience of homelessness have a leading role in the group's decision-making, public advocacy, campaigns, and educational work. The organization emerged in 2009 after a workshop in Budapest involving homeless and non-homeless participants and members of Picture the Homeless, a New York organization. The workshop followed Picture the Homeless's visit to Budapest and received financial support from the Projects for Peace initiative. A second local group was subsequently established in Pécs by Gyula Balog. The City is For All was influenced by the right-to-the-city tradition associated with Henri Lefebvre and David Harvey and became part of the Hungarian Right to the City alliance. Rather than operating as a conventional charity or commercial service provider, The City is For All functions as an independent and informal advocacy collective. It relies on volunteer labor and financial contributions from members. Its stated purpose is to help people experiencing poverty or homelessness organize around their own interests, defend their human dignity, and claim a right to housing. The group also seeks to change public perceptions by challenging assumptions that homeless people are incapable, passive, or beyond help. Its work includes public campaigning, media advocacy, community organizing, participatory research, legal-support initiatives, and direct action. The organization has participated in anti-eviction efforts, including civil disobedience opposing forced evictions. Between 2011 and 2013, it conducted the Justice on the Streets participatory-action-research project, documenting homeless people's experiences of discrimination by representatives of the Hungarian state in Budapest. It has also supported actions calling for unused or derelict properties to be returned to social use. Several initiatives that began within The City is For All later developed into separate organizations or broader projects. From the Streets into Housing works with empty apartments and converts them into social housing. The School for Public Life provides training in organizing, computer use, and English, initially serving as an internal project before expanding its work to activists from other groups. Street Lawyers provides voluntary legal information and support to homeless people; its origins date to a weekly legal-advice presence at Blaha Lujza Square that began in 2010. The group combines local organizing with international exchange. It has participated in European and international housing-rights networks, conferences, and projects involving organizations such as FEANTSA, the International Alliance of Inhabitants, and the Social Action Exchange project. It has also engaged with international scholars, activists, social workers, and homeless people's organizations. Around 2018, the group was described as having approximately 50 participants, about 80 percent of whom were homeless or formerly homeless. The available reference material does not establish a precise current membership figure, legal incorporation status, annual budget, or current leadership roster.

The City is For All was created in Budapest in 2009 through a workshop that brought together people experiencing homelessness and people who were not homeless. The workshop followed a visit by activists from Picture the Homeless, a New York-based organization, and was supported financially by the Projects for Peace initiative. Its founding model treated people with direct experience of homelessness not as recipients of services but as organizers and leaders of a movement for housing rights. The organization developed within the broader intellectual and political tradition of the right to the city, associated with the work of Henri Lefebvre and David Harvey. It later joined the Hungarian Right to the City alliance. A related group was established in Pécs by Gyula Balog, giving the initiative a presence in more than one Hungarian city. The City is For All has operated as an informal, independent collective rather than as a conventional commercial enterprise. Its activities are supported by volunteers and member contributions. The group represents people affected by homelessness and poverty and works to strengthen their ability to advocate for themselves. Its approach combines internal organizing with external campaigning, media work, research, public education, legal support, and cooperation with other social movements. A recurring focus has been opposition to forced evictions and policies that treat homelessness primarily as a public-order issue. The group has used public demonstrations and forms of civil disobedience to challenge evictions and to argue that unused housing should be brought into social use. In January 2013, it supported activists who occupied a derelict house in Budapest's Erzsébetváros district. Thirty activists were arrested on misdemeanor-related charges after allegedly failing to comply with police orders. The action reflected the group's broader demand that vacant and neglected properties be used to address housing need. The organization has also helped create or incubate initiatives with more specialized functions. From the Streets into Housing developed as a project concerned with converting empty apartments into social housing. By March 2019, that organization was reported to be managing 23 flats in Budapest. The School for Public Life began inside The City is For All and initially trained its activists in organizational skills, computer use, and English; it later expanded to work with people from other movements. Street Lawyers originated in 2010 as a voluntary legal-support effort at Blaha Lujza Square and provided advice to homeless people. Between 2011 and 2013, The City is For All ran Justice on the Streets, a participatory inquiry into discrimination faced by homeless people when dealing with representatives of the Hungarian state in Budapest. The research reflected the organization's preference for producing knowledge with affected communities rather than treating them solely as subjects of outside research. The group has maintained international links through conferences, alliances, and exchange projects. Its documented activities include participation in FEANTSA conferences in Copenhagen and Barcelona, a workshop for Slovenian social workers and homeless people, engagement with the European Social Forum and Social Action Exchange, and work connected to the International Alliance of Inhabitants. It has also taken part in discussions involving student and homeless activists and international academics. By 2018, the organization was described as having about 50 participants, approximately 80 percent of whom were homeless or formerly homeless. The available material does not provide a current list of officers or executives, a formal incorporation date, a current participant count, or evidence of commercial ownership. The group is best understood as a continuing Hungarian grassroots advocacy organization rather than a conventional consumer brand.

• 2019

  From the Streets into Housing manages 23 flats

  [1]The City is For Allen.wikipedia.org

  A project that originated within The City is For All was reported to be managing 23 Budapest apartments as social housing.

• 2018

  Reported participant profile

  [1]The City is For Allen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material described approximately 50 participants, around 80 percent of whom were homeless or formerly homeless.

• 2013

  Support for vacant-house occupation

  [1]The City is For Allen.wikipedia.org

  The group supported activists demanding that a derelict Budapest property be returned to use as housing.

• 2011

  Justice on the Streets launches

  [1]The City is For Allen.wikipedia.org

  The organization began a participatory research project on discrimination experienced by homeless people.

• 2010

  Street Lawyers initiative begins

  [1]The City is For Allen.wikipedia.org

  Volunteers began offering legal information and support to homeless people at Blaha Lujza Square.

• 2009

  Organization founded in Budapest

  [1]The City is For Allen.wikipedia.org

  The City is For All was formed after a Picture the Homeless-inspired workshop involving homeless and non-homeless participants.

A lived-experience-led housing-rights and social-justice collective that combines grassroots organizing, public advocacy, direct action, research, and activist education.

• Advocacy and organizing · 2009

  Housing-rights advocacy

  The organization's central activity is collective advocacy for the right to housing and the dignity of people experiencing homelessness. It supports affected people in defining their own demands, speaking publicly, challenging evictions, and pressing authorities and the wider public to treat housing as a social right rather than only a private commodity or public-order concern.

• Participatory research · 2011

  Justice on the Streets

  Justice on the Streets was a participatory-action-research project conducted from 2011 to 2013. It gathered evidence about discrimination experienced by homeless people in dealings with representatives of the Hungarian state in Budapest, combining research with the organization's broader aim of strengthening the voice and agency of people directly affected.

• Legal support · 2010

  Street Lawyers

  Street Lawyers began as a voluntary legal-support effort associated with The City is For All. Volunteers provided information and advice to homeless people, initially through a regular presence at Blaha Lujza Square. The initiative later developed as a distinct project serving people who needed help understanding or defending their rights.

• Activist education

  The School for Public Life

  The School for Public Life originated as an internal project that trained activists in organizational practice, computer use, and English. After five years within The City is For All, it broadened its remit to work with participants from other organizations and social movements, making its educational function more widely available.

• Social housing

  From the Streets into Housing

  From the Streets into Housing developed from work initiated within The City is For All. Its model involves taking empty apartments and converting them into social housing. The available reference material reported that it was managing 23 flats in Budapest by March 2019.

• 2013Vacant-house occupation and reuse campaign

  Budapest

  The organization supported activists who occupied a derelict house in Erzsébetváros and demanded that the unused property be returned to productive social use.

  Outcome. Thirty activists were arrested on misdemeanor-related charges after allegedly disobeying police orders; the available material does not state whether the building was ultimately converted into housing.

  Source
• Anti-eviction campaign

  Budapest · Hungary

  The City is For All has organized and supported efforts opposing forced evictions and advocating for the housing rights of people at risk of losing their homes. The campaign work has included public advocacy and civil disobedience.

  Outcome. The reference material does not specify a definitive policy result.

  Source

• 2011

  Use participatory research as an advocacy toolStrategy

  Background

  The organization sought to document discrimination experienced by homeless people in Budapest.

  Action taken

  It conducted the Justice on the Streets participatory-action-research project from 2011 to 2013.

  Aftermath

  The project aligned evidence gathering with community organizing and public advocacy, although the supplied material does not quantify its policy impact.

  Source

• 2009

  Adopt a lived-experience-led organizing modelStrategy

  Background

  The group was formed by homeless and non-homeless participants influenced by Picture the Homeless and right-to-the-city theory.

  Action taken

  It placed people who were homeless or formerly homeless in leading roles across the organization's activities and advocacy.

  Aftermath

  This became a defining feature of the group's identity and distinguished its approach from service models in which homeless people are primarily treated as clients.

  Source

• Develop specialized initiatives from internal projectsStrategy

  Background

  The organization accumulated needs and expertise in social housing, legal support, and activist education.

  Action taken

  Projects such as From the Streets into Housing, The School for Public Life, and Street Lawyers were developed and subsequently operated with broader or separate remits.

  Aftermath

  The model extended the organization's influence beyond its own membership into social housing provision, legal support, and movement training.

  Source

• 2013

  Housing activists arrested after occupying an empty house[1]The City is For Allen.wikipedia.org

  Lawsuit · Other

  Thirty housing activists were arrested in Budapest's Erzsébetváros district after squatting an empty property and allegedly disobeying police orders. The City is For All supported the demand that the derelict building be put back into use.

• 2013

  Housing-rights seminar organized with FEANTSA[1]The City is For Allen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The City is For All and FEANTSA held a one-day seminar focused on advancing housing rights in Hungary.

• 2011

  Justice on the Streets research project[1]The City is For Allen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The organization conducted a participatory-action-research project examining discrimination experienced by homeless people in interactions with Hungarian state representatives.

• 2010

  Street Lawyers begins providing support to homeless people[1]The City is For Allen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  A legal-support initiative associated with The City is For All began offering voluntary advice at Blaha Lujza Square on Friday afternoons.

• 2009

  The City is For All is founded in Budapest[1]The City is For Allen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  A workshop involving homeless and non-homeless participants, inspired by Picture the Homeless's work in New York, led to the formation of The City is For All.

• A Pécs group is established[1]The City is For Allen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  A related group was later formed in Pécs, Hungary, by Gyula Balog, extending the organization's model beyond Budapest.

1. 1The City is For Allen.wikipedia.org
2. 2The City is For All official websiteavarosmindenkie.blog.hu