This book examines the theory and practice of fairness and justice in and of ‘ordinary’ cities through a multi-disciplinary collaboration, which draws on expertise in planning, politics, geography, ethics, education, law and urban design. The importance of understanding, identifying and addressing injustice in the contemporary city cannot be over estimated. More than half of the global population live in cities and ‘the city’ plays a key role in 21st-century global political economy yet we find a stark juxtaposition of radically unequal lives within contemporary cities. The contributors to thi ... More

This book examines the theory and practice of fairness and justice in and of ‘ordinary’ cities through a multi-disciplinary collaboration, which draws on expertise in planning, politics, geography, ethics, education, law and urban design. The importance of understanding, identifying and addressing injustice in the contemporary city cannot be over estimated. More than half of the global population live in cities and ‘the city’ plays a key role in 21st-century global political economy yet we find a stark juxtaposition of radically unequal lives within contemporary cities. The contributors to this book address key questions about economic, social, educational, environmental and spatial justice in cities. In each chapter, the authors contribute to a multi-disciplinary conversation about unfairness and injustice in the city by placing their empirical research on a particular city (or cities) within their own disciplinary and theoretical framework. The book focuses on ‘ordinary’ cities, challenging the hierarchical classification of cities and the focus in much of the literature on ‘global’ cities. The city of Newcastle upon Tyne in the United Kingdom provides common ground for many of the chapters. Together, the contributions to this book show the complexity of the relationship between justice and the city, and deepen our understanding of the multiple ways in which cities can be unjust. They also highlight the importance of different forms of resistance to unjust processes and practices that are experienced in everyday life, contributing to discussions of the ‘right to the city’.