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The just city

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  • Susan S. Fainstein

Abstract

Justice has always been a major topic within political philosophy, but scholars in the behavioural sciences have largely avoided normative statements. After the urban uprisings of the 1960s and 1970s, however, leftist scholars adopted a critical approach that, while not specifying a concept of justice, injected a moral dimension into their work. Within urban studies, the argument of Henri Lefebvre, who defined space as a social construction and who maintained that all groups should have a 'right to the city', became particularly influential. During the 1990s, scholars began to be more explicit about the concept of justice. Three main approaches to urban justice were developed: (1) communicative rationality; (2) recognition of diversity; (3) the just city/spatial justice. Differences between the communicative and just city approaches revolved around emphasis on democracy versus equity, process versus outcome. I argue that democracy, diversity, and equity are the three governing principles for urban justice but also recognize the tension among them. Although structural transformation cannot be achieved at the municipal level, a change in the rhetoric around urban policy from a focus on competitiveness to a discourse about justice can improve the quality of life for urban residents.

Suggested Citation

  • Susan S. Fainstein, 2014. "The just city," International Journal of Urban Sciences, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(1), pages 1-18, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:rjusxx:v:18:y:2014:i:1:p:1-18
    DOI: 10.1080/12265934.2013.834643
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Zucker,Ross, 2001. "Democratic Distributive Justice," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521790338, October.
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    Cited by:

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    3. Upham, Dr Paul & Sovacool, Prof Benjamin & Ghosh, Dr Bipashyee, 2022. "Just transitions for industrial decarbonisation: A framework for innovation, participation, and justice," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
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    7. Peter Bibby & John Henneberry & Jean-Marie Halleux, 2021. "Incremental residential densification and urban spatial justice: The case of England between 2001 and 2011," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(10), pages 2117-2138, August.
    8. Julie Rudner, 2017. "Educating Future Planners about Working with Children and Young People," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(3), pages 195-206.
    9. Thorning, Daniel & Balch, Christopher & Essex, Stephen, 2019. "The delivery of mixed communities in the regeneration of urban waterfronts: An investigation of the comparative experience of Plymouth and Bristol," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 238-251.
    10. Morgan, Edward A. & Osborne, Natalie & Mackey, Brendan, 2022. "Evaluating planning without plans: Principles, criteria and indicators for effective forest landscape approaches," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    11. Ali Hosseini & Ebrahim Farhadi & Fatema Hussaini & Ahmad Pourahmad & Nooshin Seraj Akbari, 2022. "Analysis of spatial (in)equality of urban facilities in Tehran: an integration of spatial accessibility," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(5), pages 6527-6555, May.
    12. Badland, Hannah & Pearce, Jamie, 2019. "Liveable for whom? Prospects of urban liveability to address health inequities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 94-105.
    13. Khandakar Farid Uddin & Awais Piracha, 2023. "Neoliberalism, Power, and Right to the City and the Urban Divide in Sydney, Australia," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, February.
    14. Shelly Cohen & Yael Allweil, 2020. "Towards Non-Ageist Housing and Caring in Old Age," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(4), pages 155-170.
    15. W Neil Adger & Ricardo Safra de Campos & Tasneem Siddiqui & Lucy Szaboova, 2020. "Commentary: Inequality, precarity and sustainable ecosystems as elements of urban resilience," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(7), pages 1588-1595, May.

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