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Rights to the city and spatial justice| The search for social justice in post-1970 Long Beach

<p> A historical narrative of Long Beach in the rights to the city and spatial justice literature has remained untold within the broader California narrative. This analysis looks at the case of Long Beach and focuses on two critical junctures in its development. The concept of the right to the city centers on social justice for anyone dispossessed by the conditions of urban life which can be achieved by creating more space for democratic participation and inclusivity over the production of the city for all social groups. Related to rights to the city, spatial justice theory posits that the current system of urban restructuring and development reproduce injustices through factors such as uneven development, disinvestment, and marginalization and only by transforming these processes can we achieve social justice. Rights to the city and spatial justice both underscore challenging existing power relations that drive the production of urban space.</p><p> While the focus of this research is limited to Long Beach, the implications are much broader; the concepts ofthe rights to the city and spatial justice are about understanding and transforming global processes by starting transformation at the local level. The case study of Long Beach can add to both the literature and the right to the city and spatial justice movements by demonstrating ways Long Beach community members have attempted to achieve the right to the city and transform it to a more spatially just urban area. The findings generated from the analysis of two prominent Long Beach social movement organizations, The Long Beach Area Citizens Involved (LBACI) and The Long Beach Coalition for Good Jobs and a Healthy Community (the Coalition), suggest that community members have successfully challenged the processes underlying the development of Long Beach in the pursuit of social justice.</p>

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:1526927
Date22 November 2014
CreatorsMadden, Lauren A.
PublisherCalifornia State University, Long Beach
Source SetsProQuest.com
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typethesis

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