Seeking Spatial Justice: Part Three Social or spatial justice? Marcuse and Soja on the right to the city

摘要

This paper offers a brief comparative reading of how Peter Marcuse and Edward Soja conceptualise the spatiality of justice and the right to the city. The work of both of these authors has been featured in City in recent issues, and while there are clear differences in their approaches, I argue that there are also points of convergence. In particular, both Marcuse and Soja insist that working towards the 'right to the city' is not only a matter of re-ordering urban spaces, it is also a matter of attacking the wider processes and relations which generate forms of injustice in cities. In making this case, the paper provides an illustration of my belief that both Marcuse and Soja are right in arguing that a commitment to the 'right to the city' can serve as the 'common cause' or 'glue that binds' for radical theorists and activists across their differences.