The Spatial Justice Package (SJP) of the UP2030 Horizon Europe Planning and Design Ready for 2030 project operationalises ideas of justice in the context of Europe’s transition toward climate-neutral, inclusive, and democratic cities.
The UP2030 Spatial Justice Package (Part of Work Package 3, led by TU Delft, was conceived by Roberto Rocco, Juliana Gonçalves, Hugo Lopez, Marcin Dabrowski, Andres Maglione and partners. It builds on three intertwined goals:
- To translate theories of spatial justice—distributive, procedural, and recognitional (Fraser 2009; Soja 2010; Young 1990)—into practical planning tools for city planning and design.
- To embed justice assessment and monitoring within climate transition governance.
- To empower local actors—municipalities, planners, and citizens—to co-design urban transformations that are fair, inclusive, and context-sensitive.
The package has several integrated components:
1. Spatial Justice Conceptual Model (SJCM)
This provides the theoretical backbone. It articulates three analytical dimensions of spatial justice—
- Distributive: How benefits and burdens of urban change (infrastructure, green space, housing, energy) are spatially allocated.
- Procedural: How decision-making processes enable participation, transparency, and accountability.
- Recognitional: How diverse identities, knowledges, and spatial experiences are acknowledged in planning. This model acts as both a diagnostic framework (for analysing injustice) and a normative guide (for steering fair transformation processes).
2. Spatial Justice Benchmarking Tool (SJBT)
Developed by TU Delft, this tool converts the conceptual model into a set of indicators and metrics that assess cities’ performance in terms of spatial justice.
It uses the VSOA method—Values, Systems, Outcomes, and Actions—to connect normative principles (justice, inclusion, equity) to observable practices (policies, spatial interventions, governance mechanisms). Cities can map how far their ongoing or planned projects contribute to just transitions.
3. Justice Readiness Level (JRL)
Inspired by the “Technology Readiness Level” framework, the JRL measures how prepared a city or project is to integrate spatial justice principles. It ranges from conceptual awareness to institutional integration and operational implementation. It helps cities see whether justice is still rhetorical or already embedded in practice.
4. Dashboard and Data Infrastructure
The online dashboard visualises results from the SJBT and JRL assessments. It allows comparison across pilot cities (e.g., Lisbon, Zagreb, Amsterdam, Naples, Mannheim, and others) and helps track improvements over time. This supports evidence-based decision-making and transparent communication with citizens.
In sum, the Spatial Justice Package provides both a conceptual lens and a practical apparatus for embedding justice into the European Green Deal and the Mission for 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities. It exemplifies what could be called a justice-by-design approach: the systematic alignment of spatial planning, governance, and community action with the principles of fairness, recognition, and democratic participation.