Defining spatial justice: A review

Abstract

Over the past six decades and more seriously since the global recession in 2008, the concept of spatial justice (SJ) has been addressed in rural, urban, and regional studies and processes, leading to the preparation of plans in various fields and disciplines around the world. However, this concept is disputed due to paradigmatic differences and the proliferation of concepts presented. This article aims to clarify the conceptual ambiguities surrounding SJ and extract its defining categories regardless of existing intellectual paradigms. More precisely, this paper wants to understand the common concepts of SJ definitions to provide an integrated definition for it. For this purpose, the present study was methodically extracted using a systematic review and coded with a qualitative content analysis. The results reveal seven underlying categories of SJ under the headings of “participation”, “power and governance”, “diversity and plurality”, “equality”, “access”, “equity” and “fairness”. Combining these categories and their sub-categories forms an integrated definition that can be considered the main basis for the efficiency of theories, policies, and future planning. Also, a deeper understanding of SJ formative categories can be achieved by linking this new definition with intellectual paradigms and spatial planning theories.