Abstract
The discussion surrounding the impact of territorial cohesion policy, and the territorial prioritization of cohesion policy, can offer significant insights by problematizing spatial justice. The notions of territoriality, mobility and peripherality are presented and analyzed due to their relevance to territorial cohesion, but also because they may strengthen the concept of spatial justice. The main objective of this paper, and by extension of this issue, is to stress the relevance of spatial justice as a concept created to address socio-spatial and territorial inequalities and useful when framing policy strategies, articulating policy goals, implementing policies, or taking actions to mitigate socio-spatial inequalities. The paper is organized in four sections. The introductory section presents social and economic inequalities as signifiers of the (un)sustainability of the European project and stresses the challenges facing territorial cohesion policy. The second section includes a conceptualization of spatial justice which plays to both the analytical strength and normative rigour of the concept. Third, there is a brief discussion of the notions of territoriality, mobility and peripherality. The final section is dedicated to a description of the basic features of the six papers included in this issue.
Highlights
Since the mid-1980s economic inequality has risen in Europe, while concerns over its increase have surged in the aftermath of the post-2008 financial crisis
It is believed that inequalities have reached levels at which they may undermine democracy in Europe. This belief is rooted in significant evidence, since economic anxiety and distributional struggles exacerbated by globalization have generated a base for populism (Rodrik, 2018)
The issue of economic and regional inequalities across Europe has been politicized in recent years, since it is considered a structural feature of the European construction
Summary
Since the mid-1980s economic inequality has risen in Europe, while concerns over its increase have surged in the aftermath of the post-2008 financial crisis. The conceptualization of spatial justice discussed above has revealed two rival understandings of territoriality: state territoriality which is somehow fixed and refers to territory as a container for socio-spatial relations and policies; and territoriality as the outcome of social construction (Elden, 2010; Sassen, 2013).
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