As we discussed in class, justice is the inclusive process of
correcting past wrongs and regaining rights for humanity so that all people
have equitable access to resources and opportunities. Spatial justice, then,
includes the ideas of mobility, spatial power, and spatial links.
Throughout history, we have seen institutions disregard this
concept of spatial justice, consistently telling people where they can be, as
well as who. According to Bailey, Lobenstine, and Nagel (n.d.), “any and every marginalized group has had space itself used as part
of the terrain through which they experience injustice in their day to day
lives”. For example, in 1939, Nazi Germany started moving Jews into ghettos. In these ghettos,
Jews were caged in like animals: surrounded by barbed wire fences, living in
filth, and starved to death (Glazer, n.d.).
The way in which the Hitler regime expected these people to live
labeled them as inferior, unworthy of mainstream society. Just as people have
been forced into places, they have been coerced out. Before Columbus sailed the
ocean blue in ‘92, the Native American people owned this land.
That, of course, meant nothing to the white men who came and not only stole
their land but murdered the Native Americans. Despite the fact that we discuss
the importance of equity, especially in regard to spatial justice, we are still
lacking.
I see these same problems back in my hometown. The town I grew up
in is severely lacking in diversity, yet we still have segregations in my community
depending on class and race. On the west side of town, sprinkled across
multiple neighborhoods all rightfully named “The Sanctuary”, you will find the elite. However, just a 15-minute drive east
into the center of town is Perrysburg Heights. The Heights is the poorest
neighboorhood in the town, and it’s residents make up a
majority of Perrysburg’s Latino demographic. Another 10-minute drive
east and you will see the stereotypical American suburb in the historic
district of town, full of middle-class white families with a minivan parked in
the driveway. The families that live in these distinct areas all seemingly fit
into their roles or the roles that society has assigned them. Across time and
place institutions continuously categorize and assign people into places and
statuses. So, my question is, is spatial justice simply an idea or is it actively
happening? There is still so much work to be done to achieve the equity that we
so wish for, and I hope that for our sake and those of future generations that
we get there.
Sources
Bailey, K., Lobenstine, L., Nagel, K. (n.d.). Spatial justice: a
frame for reclaiming our rights to be, thrive, express, and connect. Design
Studio for Social Intervention . Retrieved from
https://learn-us-east-1-prod-fleet01-xythos.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/5c1270dbb5a74/
926505?response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%2A%3DUTF-8%27%27
SpatialJustice_ds4si.pdf&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf&X-Amz-Algorithm
=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20190911T151251Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=
host&X-Amz-Expires=21600&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAIBGJ7RCS23L3LEJQ%2F201
90911%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=328e473a368a9af1201
165bbf9bece242bb25012eeb00020fb4817fa9efc6b39
Glazer, S. (n.d.). Ghettos under the Nazis [Webpage]. Retrieved
from
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ghettos-under-the-nazis/
(Emilee Kerr)
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