The right to have time

There is a commodity scarcer than water and more precious than gold: the time that eludes us. Everyone talks about it, everyone pursues it, but not everyone possesses it equally. In societies that advance and generate new rights, the right to time emerges with force. But who can truly exercise it?

We know that the distribution of time is as unequal as income. A person with decision-making power decides when they come in and when they leave, when they disconnect and when they queue. A supermarket cashier, a waiter, or a warehouse worker can hardly do the same. Some people's time has open doors; others', locks and padlocks. And we also know that time is gendered: women spend six more hours a week than men on housework and caregiving. Specifically, women work thirteen hours and men seven, according to an analysis byIvaliaThis "second shift," a work overload due to their role as mothers and caregivers, continues to mark their lives. The consequence is "time poverty," a concept coined by economist Claire Vickery, which involves living with less than three hours a day for oneself, for learning, or simply to breathe.

In this context, Barcelona and Bogotá have become time laboratories. In 2022, Barcelona became the first World Capital of Time Policies.Years later, Bogotá picked up the baton and hosted the international forum "Women's Time: Gender and City-Building" from September 23-25. A Catalan delegation traveled to exchange experiences on caregiving, mobility, and school and work schedules. The delegate of the Catalan government in the Andean countries, Antoni Vicens i Vicens, along with the Mayor's Office of Bogotá, served as hosts. I was fortunate enough to participate on behalf of the Barcelona Time Use Initiative and experience firsthand the passion, creativity, and enormous effort deployed in Colombia to realize the right to time.

Bogotá is known as one of the cities in the world where the most time is wasted commuting. But where time becomes an enemy, it has been able to forge alliances. care apples, in Ciudad Bolívar and other areasDilapidated, they offer community services that free up time for the most precarious women, those trapped in an endless chain of external care, often subjected to violence. The time they didn't have and couldn't even imagine suddenly becomes a possibility: studying, resting, living, with the creation of community laundries, spaces for children, and conversation circles among them.

Barcelona found inspiration for its superblock and care neighborhood projects, initiated a few years ago with the Vila Veïna initiative, and now continues to advance toward a more sustainable and democratic city. We must be aware that a lack of personal time not only has consequences for socialization and health, but also often leads to a lack of participation in public life, in political, union, or cultural debates. Middle-aged women participate less than men of their generation, which ultimately implies a democratic deficit. At the conclusion of the four days of work, six new Latin American cities from Colombia and Ecuador joined the Network of Local and Regional Governments for Time Policies, led by Barcelona, as part of Bogotá's efforts to promote time policies in the region.

The future of cities depends on this shift in perspective. Whether under the name of the "15-minute city," championed by Anne Hidalgo in Paris, or the Colombian "city of care," the idea is the same: moving toward polycentric cities, redesigning urban space so that everyday time becomes human again. In Bogotá, caregiving time, urban planning, and support services are a concern; here, we debate reduced working hours, the four-day week, teleworking, and digital disconnection. But the conclusion is the same: only when time is no longer held hostage by haste can the city once again become a space for encounter, care, and meaning.

Time Use Week 2025 kicked off on October 13th, celebrated in Barcelona with Bogotá as a special guest. It's a new opportunity to add to and spread this simple yet radical evidence around the world: time is neither a luxury nor a privilege. It's a right. And without the right to time, there is no democracy or true equality.