Centre for the Just City — TU Delft
Centre for the Just City
A research, policy and education platform at TU Delft advancing spatial justice through critical research, teaching, and civic engagement.
to the Manifesto for the Just City project
worldwide
publications
participants each July
§ 01 — About
A platform
for spatial
justice.
The Centre for the Just City was founded at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment at the Delft University of Technology in response to the pressing challenges of rampant social inequalities affecting urban spaces’ cohesion and sustainability
Recognising the vital need to address these issues, the Centre emerged as a platform for research, education, and outreach activities to create just cities.
Since its inception, the Centre has been at the forefront of bridging theory and practice, fostering collaborations, and influencing policies and actions that contribute to making cities equitable, sustainable, and inclusive.
§ 02 — What we do
Six modes
of practice.
Research & policy
Critical research and practical policy tools to advance spatial justice, democratic urbanism, and inclusive sustainability transitions.
Summer School & workshops
Each July, 100 students, scholars, practitioners, and activists gather at TU Delft to explore planning for fairer urban futures.
Manifesto series
A global platform and book series where participants reflect on urban injustice and articulate commitments for more just cities.
Open educational resources
Freely accessible teaching materials, frameworks, and tools that support critical urban education and practice worldwide.
Networks
Connecting researchers, governments, practitioners, and civil society organisations to exchange knowledge and build alliances.
Advisory work
Supporting public institutions and community organisations in developing more equitable, democratic, and responsive urban policies.
§ 03 — Mission
Spatial planning is never neutral.
Across the world, growing inequality, democratic backsliding, ecological collapse, displacement, and the privatisation of urban life are reshaping cities and regions. These pressures are spatial. They are produced through housing systems, infrastructure networks, mobility regimes, environmental risk allocation, and the uneven distribution of visibility and political voice.
Planning decisions shape who belongs, who benefits, who participates, and who is pushed aside.
Our mission is to advance spatial justice through critical research, education, policy development, and civic engagement, while strengthening democratic and inclusive approaches to urban transformation.
Grounded in the principles of distributive, procedural, and recognitional justice, the Centre promotes forms of planning and governance that expand democratic participation, recognise diverse ways of inhabiting the city, and improve equitable access to housing, infrastructure, opportunity, care, and collective life.
§ 04 — Values
Five commitments.
-
01
Spatial Justice
We believe cities and regions must distribute opportunities, resources, visibility, and risks more fairly, while recognising the dignity, agency, and political presence of all communities.
-
02
Democratic Participation
We value inclusive and meaningful participation in planning and decision-making, recognising that just urban futures can only be built through collective democratic processes.
-
03
The Pluriverse and Recognition
We embrace diverse ways of living, knowing, and inhabiting space, and we work to amplify voices, experiences, and territorial practices that are often excluded or marginalised.
-
04
Critical Inquiry & Public Engagement
We are committed to rigorous, critical, and publicly engaged research that bridges theory and practice and contributes to transformative social and spatial change.
-
05
Duty of Care & Collective Responsibility
We believe cities should be organised around care, solidarity, and shared responsibility, fostering environments that support human flourishing, ecological sustainability, and collective wellbeing.
“We need cities that are life-giving, rather than profit-making.”
Prof. Faranak Miraftab — University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
§ 05 — Position paper
World Urban
Forum 2026.
The Centre’s submission to the World Urban Forum 2026. Read the full document below or download for offline reading.
§ 06 — Latest
From the blog.
Centre for the Just City
Dedicated to pursuing social justice through the lens of urban development.
Contact
Centre for the Just City
Department of Urbanism
Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment
Delft University of Technology
Julianalaan 134, 2628BL, Delft
e-mail: justcitycentre-bk@tudelft.nl
Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm CET
Leave a Reply