News

Susan Fainstein seeks the Just City

Susan S. Fainstein (senior research fellow) raised examples from Amsterdam, New York and Singapore to make a case for the “just city” in her recent lecture at the Centre for Liveable Cities in Singapore. She shared her views on the challenges of balancing processes and outcomes, the trappings of community participation and the demands of competition. Her lecture was followed by a question-and-answer session moderated by Donald Low, senior fellow of the Institute of Policy Studies and assistant dean at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

In her 2010 publication The Just City: Principles and Distinctions, Fainstein proposed three principles that should guide the formulation of plans and policies within the constraints of global capitalism: diversity, democracy and equity. She made the distinction between a competitive global city and a just city, in which the measure of success is a better quality of life for the majority of people.

Read the lecture transcripts.