Roberto Rocco

🌍 THE CENTRE FOR THE JUST CITY is at the WORLD URBAN FORUM! Global Partnership Launch at #WUF13 How can cities become more democratic, inclusive, and just? Join leading scholars, planners, civil society organisations, and city representatives for the international launch of the Centre for the Just City, a global platform advancing spatial justice in urban development. 📍 World Urban Forum 13 🎤 Roundtable + networking + Just City Declaration 🤝 Featuring partners from TU Delft, LSE, UCL, IIED, NGOs, and youth voices Together, we will explore: • Spatial justice in urban policy and design • Tools for just climate transitions • Housing, public space, mobility, and participation • Real projects and global partnerships • New collaborations for democratic urban futures A just city is one where everyone can inhabit, shape, and benefit from urban transformation. Join the conversation. Build the alliance. #SpatialJustice #JustCity #UrbanJustice #WUF13 #UrbanPlanning #CitiesForAll #ClimateJustice #HousingForAll #TUdelft #UP2030 #Planning #PublicSpace #InclusiveCities

Framed. Acrylic gouache on canvas.

Провели шостий захід третього етапу проєкту «Urban Lab», спілкуючись разом із @robrocco про те, як створюється справедливе місто та поняття рівності людей в ньому, як головного принципу справедливості Також через сусідство з країною-агресором частково захід проводили в укритті, тож наголошуємо, що під час проведення подій завжди слідкуємо за вашою безпекою 🤝 Матеріал підготовлений у межах Проєкту «Імпульс», що реалізовується Міжнародним фондом «Відродження» та Фондом Східна Європа за фінансування Норвегії (Norad) та Швеції (Sida). Зміст матеріалу не обов’язково відображає позицію Міжнародного фонду «Відродження», Фонду Східна Європа, Уряду Норвегії та Уряду Швеції. / We held the sixth event of the third stage of the «Urban Lab» project, talking with @robrocco about how a just city is created and the concept of equality of people in it, as the main principle of justice Also, due to the neighborhood with the aggressor country, the event was partially held in a shelter, so we emphasize that during the events we always monitor your safety 🤝 The material was prepared within the framework of the Impulse Project, implemented by the International Renaissance Foundation and the Eastern Europe Foundation with funding from Norway (Norad) and Sweden (Sida). The content of the material does not necessarily reflect the position of the International Renaissance Foundation, the Eastern Europe Foundation, the Government of Norway and the Government of Sweden.

Hey, folks! I just witnessed something that shook me to my core. I was invited to give an online lecture to a collective in Zaporizhzhia, a city close to the frontline in Ukraine. Few people outside Ukraine know Zaporizhzhia, but it is a city of more than 700,000 people (larger than Rotterdam). I was honoured but, at the same time, ashamed of myself: what could I possibly say to people who are facing war? Nothing I have lived through compares to the reality of war. War is not the opposite of justice. War is the collapse of justice: it is when brute force prevails over civilisation. Justice is a human invention; it does not exist in nature. It is an “invented order” that allows us to live together. This apparently simple idea is crucial. War is when all possibility of life together disappears. Some people say that justice is idealistic and violence is realistic. War is not simply violence. It is the breakdown of the institutional and spatial conditions that make justice possible. The claim that “violence is realist” and “justice is idealist” rests on a very narrow understanding of realism. It assumes that force produces order, that domination is more effective than negotiation, and that coercion is more reliable than legitimacy. But empirical political theory suggests the precise opposite. The group I was speaking to was composed of very young people: architects and others interested in the city. Towards the end of my lecture, we heard a loud boom near where they were. There was a commotion, and everybody ran to a shelter. The connection never broke, and I could hear them, though the video feed was interrupted for a while. After they settled down in the shelter, they wanted me to continue the lecture. I was shaking, probably more terrified than they were. I felt more ashamed than ever. And yet, they sat there, listening to me, asking questions, asking how Europe was preparing for war, asking what we would do if there were a war here. (continues in comments)

“In cities and communities, the concept of spatial justice emerges precisely from the tension between individual liberties and collective entitlements, recognising the urban environment is a shared commons where rights, resources, and responsibilities, both positive and negative, must be fairly distributed. Spatial justice demands all residents, regardless of socio-economic status, have substantive access to essential goods and services: Clean air, affordable housing, public transport, green spaces, and safe infrastructures. At the same time, it insists these rights be pursued in ways that preserve ecological integrity and intergenerational equity. The interplay of justice and freedom in the urban context, therefore, extends beyond immediate neighbours to encompass wider communities, ecosystems, and global concerns such as climate change. By situating urban governance within these interconnected dimensions, spatial justice reframes planning as a normative practice of care, redistribution, and recognition, oriented toward the creation of inclusive and sustainable cities.”

Hi, folks! Please read my piece on IGNORANCE AS A GOVERNANCE RESOURCE at /2026/01/22/trump-is-an-ignorant-brute/ This is analysis of how Donald Trump uses IGNORANCE (his, his supporters' and his acolytes') as a mechanism of governance. And don't hesitate to leave your comments! Cheers! Roberto

Hey, folks! Freshly baked! My love letter to spatial justice is finally out! In this book, I try to do something deceptively simple and therefore completely unreasonable: explain why space matters for justice, and why planning is never just technical, neutral, or innocent. Cities do not merely reflect inequality. They help produce, stabilise, and sometimes (thankfully) challenge it. 'Spatial Justice: The Basics; is published by Routledge and is written for students, practitioners, and fellow travellers who are tired of being told that fairness is “important, but not our job.” It brings together critical geography, planning theory, political economy, and decolonial perspectives to unpack how distributive, procedural, and recognitional injustices are built into space. Housing, infrastructure, public space, peripheries, participation, power. The usual suspects. This is, of course, not a 'manual' with five easy steps to save the city. It is an invitation to think more clearly about how planning decisions shape who belongs, who benefits, and who carries the costs of urban life. If you work in or around the built environment, you are already doing normative work. This book simply refuses to let that remain implicit. The book sits alongside my ongoing work with the Centre for the Just City and connects directly to debates on democratic backsliding, public goods, and the future of collective life in cities. It is written in plain language without watering things down. You can buy it at https://lnkd.in/deFeBV92 Thanks to everyone who argued with me, taught me, challenged me, and made this possible. And yes, in a world plagued by infantile semi- and full-blown dictators, genocide, torture and more, justice is still our best chance. Caroline Newton, Hugo Lopez, Juliana Gonçalves, Marh Echtai, Irene Luque Martín, Johnathan Subendran, Adam Paul Susaneck, Aditi Natarajan, Nima Tabrizi, Ester Carro, Luiz Barata, Russell Smith

/2026/01/22/trump-is-an-ignorant-brute/

Hey, folks! Because good things deserve a little extra time, we’ve extended the application deadline for the Delft University of Technology **Summer School Planning & Design for the Just City** to 28 January, organised by Centre for the Just City. The school takes place between 6–17 July | at the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) This two-week, hands-on programme brings together 100 students and early-career professionals from around the world who care deeply about cities, justice, sustainability, and climate action. Expect an intense and inspiring mix of: lectures and very lively debates workshops and site visits collaborative design and strategy work all grounded in real urban challenges in the Dutch context You’ll work with leading academics and practitioners, explore spatial justice in practice, and develop a spatial vision and strategy connecting planning, design, and public values. When: 6–17 July Where: Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, TU Delft, The Netherlands New deadline for application: 28 January If you’ve been hesitating, overthinking, or waiting for a sign, this is it. Apply here: /how-to-apply/ We hope to welcome you to Delft this summer! Caroline Newton, Juliana Gonçalves, Irene Luque Martín, Johnathan Subendran 🟥🟨, Hugo Lopez, Marh Echtai, Nima Tabrizi, Aditi Natarajan, Julia Schasfoort, Adam Paul Susaneck, Ester Carro, Russell Smith

Hey, folks! It feels a bit surreal, but my first solo book, ‘Spatial Justice: The Basics’, is now available for pre-sale on the Routledge website! https://lnkd.in/deFeBV92 The official launch is on 26 January 2026! This book grows out of many years of work at the Centre for the Just City () and from an extraordinary set of collaborations. I am deeply grateful to Caroline Newton, Hugo Lopez, Juliana Gonçalves, Irene Luque Martín, Johnathan Subendran 🟥🟨, Luiz Barata, Russell Smith, Remon Rooij, Luciana Royer, Mariana Fix, Francine Sakata, Paulo Cassio, Fabio Mariz Gonçalves, Gabriel Silvestre, my colleagues at Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the UP2030 HE Horizon Europe team, the colleagues at the Delft Design for Values Institute, María Novas, Amy Thomas and the many contributors to the ‘Manifesto for the Just City’ (https://lnkd.in/enj3Rnck) and the ‘Summer School Planning and Design for the Just City’ (https://lnkd.in/eX_cJCn). THANK YOU!! Most of all, this work has been shaped by more than 800 students who have joined the Summer School over the past twelve years, and by the steady guidance of Vincent Nadin, who taught me so much about planning. Also, my dearest students at the Department of Urbanism, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment and the AMS Institute, who have asked the many crucial questions which have shaped this book. This book is for all those who, in the words of Faranak Miraftab, understand hope as a political practice. I remain convinced that justice is the human institution that makes collective life possible and may be our best chance of living in balance with our planet. Thank you also to the colleagues at Routledge who did such an amazing job. Thanks to everyone who has walked alongside me on this journey and do hope you enjoy reading it!

REGISTRATIONS OPEN FOR THE 6th CALL FOR A MANIFESTO FOR THE JUST CITY! REGISTER HERE: https://forms.gle/2WQgApRPC The Delft University of Technology Centre for the Just City is proud to announce the call for the Manifesto for the Just City workshop, now in its sixth edition. This is an engaging digital lecture and debate series featuring four online sessions with leading academics and practitioners in urban theory, planning, and spatial justice. After the lecture series, you will be invited to write your own manifesto in groups (with colleagues from the same or different universities). The sessions will be held on 20, 27, OCTOBER and 03, 10 NOVEMBER 2025, at 18:00 CET (Amsterdam time). As part of the workshop, student teams will have the opportunity to draft their own Manifesto for the Just City, sharing their visions for creating sustainable, fair, and inclusive cities with colleagues from all over the world. This activity is generally joined by students from more than 100 universities around the world, including Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Morgan State University, KU Leuven, Winston-Salem State University, Anglia Ruskin University, Politecnico di Milano, and more! This event is open to Bachelor's, Master's, and doctoral students from ANY UNIVERSITY or INSTITUTION and any field related to the built environment (including architecture, urban planning and design, urban geography, landscape design, environmental engineering, sociology, and more). The workshop is proudly organised by the Centre for the Just City at TU Delft. Learn more at our website: / YOU CAN REGISTER HERE: https://forms.gle/9mzE9f4caFTE61V38 For inquiries, feel free to reach out to Roberto Rocco at [email protected] For more information, please visit: Note: All participants must register individually. Teams for drafting the manifesto will be formed later, and you will have the opportunity to indicate your preferred collaborators. Caroline Newton, Juliana Gonçalves, Irene Luque Martín, Johnathan Subendran 🟥🟨, Hugo Lopez, Aditi Natarajan, Adam Paul Susaneck, Russell Smith, Cristina Cassandra Murphy, Dr Nezhapi-Dellé Odeleye