A Review of Spatial Justice Research from the Perspective of Human Needs

Abstract

Justice is an ancient concept that originated from commodity exchange and has been continuously critiqued and discussed in philosophy, ethics, and law to identify potential pathways for societies and institutions. Since the 1960s, justice research led by sociologists and political scientists has identified spatial injustices, attributing them to inherent flaws in economic systems, social order, and legal frameworks. Subsequently, the emphasis on spatial aspects, proposed by Henri Lefebvre's "right to the city" and the spatiality of social justice explored by Marxist geographers, inspired scholars such as Pirie, Soja, and Iveson. These scholars have continuously refined the theoretical framework of spatial justice, prioritizing real-world spatial practices. The essence of spatial justice can be understood through a series of dichotomies: it is both a theoretical critique and a practical methodology, passively influenced by social systems yet spatially proactive, static yet dynamic, and both process and outcome. The essential questions are "seeing spatial justice" and "seeking spatial justice", which involve "describing the justice level of social spatial outcomes" and "exploring the spatial causes and formation processes of injustice." Additionally, the two main research directions are "territorial distribution justice" and "local discrimination." Spatial justice does not imply absolute equality in distribution processes or outcomes; rather, it recognizes differences in human needs that lead to unequal distributions. The principles of spatial justice include both equality and differentiation. Scholars generally agree that the principle of equality should meet basic needs, such as transportation infrastructure, primary education, and healthcare services, which ensure minimum living standards. Based on differentiated needs—determined by factors such as region, identity, environment, contributions, and merits—non-essential material goods, social resources, and environmental assets can be allocated unequally. However, the concept of human needs is inherently subjective and is closely related to age, education, perception, and experience. Evaluating the reasonableness of these needs is complex and challenging. Assessing spatial justice from the perspective of human needs requires addressing two key issues: defining the scope of basic and non-basic needs and establishing assessment standards or indices for multidimensional needs. Although researchers such as Davies and Daniels have long argued that distribution should consider actual social needs rather than just population size, current empirical analyses, such as accessibility and availability studies, remain limited to measuring the ratio of resources to population size. Few studies have explored the characteristics and variances in needs related to residents, service levels, quality, and pricing, remaining distant from real, multidimensional, and differentiated human needs. By summarizing existing theories and methods, this study proposes three areas for future research: (1) research on territorial distribution justice should explore actual demand content beyond population size and establish relevant evaluation indicators; (2) urban spatial practices should adopt justice standards from a human-centric perspective to mitigate unjust socio-spatial outcomes; and (3) the forms and methods of achieving justice should be explored at a global regional scale.

Keywords

• spatial justice
• human needs
• needs as demands
• territorial distribution justice
• local discrimination