Parker, G., Lynn, T., Wargent, M. & Sturzaker, J. (2026). Recognizing justice through neighbourhood scale planning in England. European Planning Studies, https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2026.2696935

This paper addresses the relationship between justice, planning and the neighbourhood scale. Existing literature on social and spatial justice in planning stretches back to at least the 1960s, with early considerations of the topic frequently focusing on abstract conceptualizations of justice and universalized solutions. Such perspectives too often overlook the messy specificities and situated nature of justice as lived experience. Drawing on research that explored the treatment of justice in community-led plans in some of England's most deprived neighbourhoods, the findings show limited attention to justice, and there is little evidence that, where justice issues are identified, these are promoted or escalated via formal plans. We find that greater attention will be needed if such plans, or indeed larger scale plans, are to recognize and help realize greater social justice. A further theoretical contribution is made in arguing for more concern for situated justice and prefigurative policy in planning, while introducing the label of ‘inscriptive justice’ to the literature.