Geography and Human Relationships

Geography and Human Relationships

Spatial Justice: From the Right to the City to Urban Praxis

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Department of Human Geography, Faculty of Geographical Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.
10.22034/gahr.2026.578474.2690
Abstract
This research challenges static, product-oriented interpretations of spatial justice by redefining it not as a destination, but as a dynamic and continuous social process. Its core finding is the formulation of an integrated theoretical framework wherein “the right to the city” (as normative consciousness), “urban praxis” (as the collective process of space production), and “the just city” (as an ideal horizon) constitute a generative dialectical cycle. The driving force of this cycle is the paradigm shift from the ‘citizen-consumer’ to the ‘citizen-creator’—a citizen who does not merely consume space, but actively produces it. Realizing this vision necessitates a fundamental transformation in the role of institutions: a shift from being ‘controllers and distributors’ to becoming ‘facilitators of democratic processes of space production’. The ultimate contribution of this research is not to offer a definitive answer, but to introduce a ‘conceptual toolkit’ for the analysis, critique, and design of urban policies. Accordingly, spatial justice is not a destination, but the path itself—a journey forged in the collective and unending process of creating the city.
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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 06 June 2026

  • Receive Date 27 February 2026
  • Accept Date 06 June 2026