Spatial (In) Justice: How Does It Manifest in the Built Environment?

Explores how spatial justice shapes equitable, empowering, and inclusive experiences In an era increasingly defined by questions of equity and inclusion, Spatial (In) Justice: How Does It Manifest in the Built Environment? offers a vital, global interrogation of how architecture and planning impact the lived experiences of marginalized communities. Edited by Adnan Zillur Morshed, this timely volume brings together contributions from 33 leading thinkers and practitioners-architects, planners, scholars, and academics-who reflect on the ethical and philosophical responsibilities of those who shape space. Rather than offering simplistic answers or prescriptive solutions, this book explores the complex and often contradictory ways justice is interpreted and enacted through space. The essays examine built projects from around the world to ask whether design can foster dignity, hope, and community empowerment-and how design education must evolve to foreground these values. The contributing authors grapple with the mechanisms through which spatial practices can exclude, disempower, or uplift, addressing topics ranging from justice in the city to the politics of community engagement. Throughout the book, the essays advance a critical pedagogy of design-one that scrutinizes how space organizes power and shapes human possibility. Contributors (in alphabetical order): Annmarie Adams
Esra Akcan
Glenn Albrecht
Thomas Barrie
Tom Beaudoin
Bryan Bell
Julio Bermudez
Prem Chandavarkar
Howard Davis
Kim Dovey
Andrew Freear
Tammy Gaber
Megan Gee
Iqbal Habib
Adam Hart
Aseem Inam
Kathleen James-Chakraborty
Mark Jarzombek
Khondaker Hasibul Kabir
Pamela Karimi
Fernando Lara
Yasmeen Lari
Paco Mejias Villatoro
Jason Montgomery
Donghwan Moon
Adnan Zillur Morshed
Dahlia Nduom
Susan Piedmont-Palladino
Sharon Prince
Katie Swenson
Marina Tabassum
Diane Rhyu Taylor
Junjie Xi

About the Editor
List of contributors
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Problem of (In)Justice in the Built Environment
Adnan Z. Morshed
Chapter 1. Theorizing Spatial (In)Justice
1. Working Through Injustice
Mark Jarzombek
2. Human Rights and Everyday Space
Prem Chandavarkar
3. Architecture, Power, and Spatial Justice
Kim Dovey
Chapter 2. Right to Space
1. Right-to-Truth and Transitional Justice in Urban Space
Esra Akcan
2. Two Blocks, Two Cities: Critical Points
Susan Piedmont-Palladino
3. Gender and Geometry of Power: Rehearsing Spatial Justice in Tehran
Pamela Karimi
Chapter 3. Urbanity of Justice
1. From the Bottom-Up: Gillet Square in London
Howard Davis and Adam Hart
2. Favelas as Sites of Resistance
Fernando Lara
3. Frontstage / Backstage in Las Vegas: A Metaphorical Approach Towards Understanding Spatial Inequality in the Contemporary City
Aseem Inam
4. Reclaiming the Public Realm: Designing American Cities for Urban Wellbeing
Jason Montgomery
Chapter 4. Community Engagement as Spatial Justice
1. Specializing in Public Interest Design to Achieve Spatial Justice
Bryan Bell with Devesh Balakrishnan, Emma DeMagistris, and Miraz Reza
2. In Conversation with Architect Andrew Freear
3. From Ideas to Impact: Architecture as a Tool for Equity
Katie Swenson
4. Co-Creating Resilient Landscapes in the Rohingya Refugee Response
Diane Rhyu Taylor and Khondaker Hasibul Kabir
5. Justice for the land of Maya
Donghwan Moon
Chapter 5. Spatializing Justice
1. Hide and Seek: Indigenous Remains and Canadian Institutional Architecture
Annmarie Adams
2. The Belgian Friendship Building at Virginia Union University
Kathleen James-Chakraborty
3. Spatializing Freedom as Justice
Adnan Zillur Morshed
Chapter 6. Symbiocene as Justice
1. In Conversation with Environmental Philosopher Glenn Albrecht
2. Transforming the Built Environment through Ethical Sourcing
Sharon Prince
3. In Conversation with Architect Marina Tabassum
4. The Rivers That Bind Us
Iqbal Habib with Rubana Huq and Shadman Iqbal
Chapter 7. Justice in Sacred Space
1. Spatial Justice and Spirituality   
Julio Bermudez, Thomas Barrie, and Tom Beaudoin
2. Designing "Gendered" Worship Spaces is an Accessibility and Justice Issue
Tammy Gaber
Chapter 8. Spatial Justice Literacy
1. When the State Fails to Rehabilitate Destitute Communities
Yasmeen Lari
2. The Ambiguities of Spatial Justice: Understanding Macro and Micropolitics in Informal Settlements
Francisco Mejias Villatoro and Junjie Xi
3. Flattened Earth Society: How Map Makers Transform Our Society
Megan Gee
4. Climate Change, Health, and Housing: Design Frameworks for Justice and Repair
Dahlia Nduom
Index