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Unlocking the secrets of urban space: How to make marginalized groups co-creators in the design process?
Urban planning today faces a critical challenge: how to ensure that every community’s voice is heard, especially those that are marginalized. In exploring spatial justice, we found that factors such as poverty, discrimination, and political constraints often affect whether these groups can have a seat at the table in urban design. Historically, the spatial configuration of cities not only reflects the needs and distribution of society, but also reveals more profoundly the operating mechanism of power.
Spatial justice combines social justice with space, especially in urban planning and territorial decision-making. It is not only about the allocation of resources, but also about the fairness of the decision-making process.
According to the research of geographers David Harvey and Edward Soja, the concept of spatial justice has attracted the attention of critical geography and began to take shape in the 1970s. This concept emphasizes that when society's needs are not distributed equitably across geographical space, those who suffer from poverty and discrimination cannot easily access basic resources. In such an environment, the rights and power relations of urban citizens are particularly important.
When discussing spatial justice, there are two main perspectives: on the one hand, there is the discussion of distributional issues, and on the other hand, there is the focus on the decision-making process. The distributive perspective emphasizes that social needs (such as employment opportunities and medical services) should be fairly distributed spatially, which is also the focus of many scholars' discussion on spatial inequality. This problem is particularly acute in areas of poverty or political repression.
Even in freely developed countries, accessibility to many places is restricted, which further oppresses the living space of vulnerable groups.
In addition, pedestrian accessibility, walkability and transportation equity issues in cities can all be considered part of spatial resource allocation. When we focus on ethnic minorities, we can not only explore their spatial practices, but also reveal the oppression and discrimination under various social practices, which cannot be captured by universalist perspectives.
Architect and urban designer Liz Ogbu argues that successful spatial justice planning requires designers to “engage in dialogue with those who do not have a seat at the table, and consider them as co-designers.” It not only reminds us to include marginalized groups in the design process, but also emphasizes that changing the way designers think is crucial.
Environmental justice is a related and important concept that originated in North American cities in the 1970s, criticizing the concentration of pollution and natural disasters in minority communities as a manifestation of racial discrimination. With the improvement of social awareness, more and more experts and scholars have begun to realize that this unfair allocation of space is an issue worthy of in-depth discussion.
In this context, how can we enable marginalized groups to truly become co-creators in urban design? First, we need to establish a mechanism that allows more voices to be heard. This may include holding public discussions, setting up platforms for collecting opinions, etc., so that representatives of various communities have the opportunity to participate in the design process. At the same time, designers also need to learn to have ideological exchanges with marginalized groups, which will not only help improve the design, but also bring about more profound changes at the social level.
The way to achieve spatial justice in urban design lies in how to effectively guide and practice it, and ultimately unlock the secrets of urban space.
In the face of future urban planning, can we break through the traditional design framework and truly make the voices of marginalized groups be valued and reflected?
