Seeking Spatial Justice

In 1996, the Los Angeles Bus Riders Union, a grassroots advocacy organization, won a historic legal victory against the citys Metropolitan Transit Authority. The resulting consent decree forced the MTA for a period of ten years to essentially reorient the mass transit system to better serve the citys poorest residents. A stunning reversal of conventional governance and planning in urban America, which almost always favors wealthier residents, this decision is also, for renowned urban theorist Edward W. Soja, a concrete example of spatial justice in action.