Social justice and spatial inequality: Toward a conceptual framework

Justice has recently been deliberated in different spatial disciplines. Still, the question of its metrics remains unresolved. Accordingly, this article introduces a conceptual framework in which a metric notion of justice can be employed in different spatial contexts, drawing upon the theoretical conceptualization of Amartya Sen’s ‘capabilities’ and Pierre Bourdieu’s ‘field’, capital forms and ‘habitus’. The main hypothesis assumes that capital resources, which are formed in an individual’s living environment, determine their life chances, thus influencing spatial equality of opportunity (i.e. social justice).