Exploring the fragments of spatial justice and its relevance for the global south

Abstract

For the past two decades, the South African government, through various initiatives, attempted to undo the apartheid spatial landform existing in the country. Only in 2013 was the real ‘spatial justice turn in planning’ formally introduced in planning legislation. Little is known about the spatial justice concept and how it should be applied to planning and development activities. This article proposes positioning spatial justice within the wider justice and social justice discourse. Using a meta-synthesis, this article proposes a working definition of spatial justice in an attempt to unravel the properties and nuances within it. The meta-synthesis frames the concept of spatial justice to possess equity, diversity, democracy, just distribution, benefit of the disadvantaged, and access to necessary resources to meet basic needs. This working definition could be used to develop a framework to operationalise spatial justice, helping policy makers and practitioners undo spatial injustices that exist in our geographies.