Mexico City adopted a Constitution in 2017, when it became a city-state, with greater autonomy from national government control. The city’s Constitution lists more than 100 rights. 

Do you feel like you don’t have any rights anymore?

Me, too. Around the world, nations are trampling the human rights enshrined in their constitutions.

Which is why you should head to your city hall and enshrine all our rights in our local charters and constitutions.

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This isn’t a new idea. In the 21st century, cities have been adding bills of rights to their governing documents.

The trend is a reaction to rising national authoritarianism and a response to the world’s nonstop urbanization.

Today, nearly 60% of humans live in urban areas — a figure expected to reach 90% in 2080. But national constitutions, mostly designed when more people lived in rural places, don’t recognize or include cities.

For example, while the United States is now a country of urban metro regions — our job markets, sports teams, voting patterns and transit systems are all regional, the U.S. Constitution makes no mention of any city. This silence excludes cities from the regime of checks and balances and rights upon which the country’s democracy is built. 

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“Those cities that are home to the majority of humanity, that are ubiquitous and crucial to every aspect of 21st century society, culture,........

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