ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes that distributive, procedural, and interactional dimensions of social justice as well as the recognition of difference and an ethic of care provide a foundation for evaluating public spaces and a basis for social justice assessments of public infrastructure. The proposed social justice framework for assessing public space was developed based on twenty years of ethnographic research on parks, plazas and streets in New York City, Philadelphia, Jersey City, New York State, and San José, Costa Rica and a careful reading of the literature on the just city, right to the city and social justice planning. An overview of the impact of neoliberal urbanism on public space and the resulting social exclusion of users sets the stage for the rationale of this chapter, that a social justice perspective would enhance the diversity, cultural recognition and social interaction among people who would otherwise not come into contact with one another. Two literature reviews follow: one on the “just city” and a second of urban design models that evaluate social inclusion in public space. Based on this literature, five dimensions of social justice are proposed to enhance diversity and equity in public space. These dimensions are then illustrated by data from Tompkins Square Park in New York City.
