Mohammed Hallaq Al-Jerf
Introduction
The debate on spatial justice should be placed in the context of a general reflection on the main definitions of justice. Beyond the contradiction between the theoretical and procedural approaches of justice, which is still fundamental, can we see the emergence of new theoretical developments that would raise the issue of spatial justice?
Social inequalities are manifested in different ways, including spatial inequalities. In Syria, they can be seen by tracking the inequality of social class housing. While the wealthy people live in "Camp Bounds" which are almost entirely isolated from surroundings, lawyers and lucky technocrats with university degrees live in the modern suburbs close to the cities, and the employees of the lower classes live in poor suburbs of irregular informal housing, and these disparities are dealt with so far without reference to the idea of justice.
This is one of the many major problems that Syria will face when developing reconstruction plans: how to integrate space and people in light of the exaggerated numbers being promoted for reconstruction (international community officials are talking about a cost of up to 400 billion$, while serious economic researchers confirm that the cost will not exceed 60 billion$!). And the most important question: will the place be adapted to remain in the service of the Syrian citizen, and not only in the service of warlords?
The debate about justice and injustice is fundamental at all levels. The idea of justice is still a polysemous idea and it is often incorporated and treated as an essential political tool to mobilize people who are already different. However, we prefer to associate the concept of justice with modernity, in the face of post-modern deconstruction, which calls into question any struggle for justice, reinforced by the emergence of many social movements, such as feminism, green movements, environmental parties, anti-racism and anti-globalization. etc. Now, in Syria, the same suspicions are raised about any secular rhetoric or anti-sectarian symbolism, so the distinction of "just" from "unjust" from "just despot" (sic!) requires doubled efforts that are often misplaced. With the diversity of Syrians, with their different cultures, and with the absurdity of the war in which they live, all concepts and outcomes of modernity, including justice, are being questioned.
