Black Geographies and Spatial Justice

Black geographies examines how systems of racial power shape the production, organisation and experience of space. Drawing on critical theory, historical geography and decolonial thought, it reveals how colonial legacies, segregationist planning and ongoing racialised violence structure access to land, resources and mobility. Spatial justice emerges as a framework for analysing and contesting these inequalities, foregrounding the right of Black communities to equitable housing, environmental health, political representation and cultural recognition. Across urban centres, rural landscapes and transnational networks, research in this field has illuminated the material and symbolic struggles through which Black people contest dispossession and imagine alternative futures. By integrating intersectional perspectives on gender, class and indigeneity, Black geographies advances a holistic account of how space is both contested terrain and site of emancipatory possibility.

Research from Nature Portfolio

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Black Geographies and Spatial Justice publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in black geographies and spatial justice across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Spatial justice: Equitable allocation of space-related rights and resources, ensuring communities have fair access to housing, services and representation.

Counter-mapping: A mapping practice led by marginalised groups to challenge official cartographies and foreground lived experiences of space.

Decolonisation: The process of dismantling colonial power relations and knowledge systems to enable self-determination and cultural resurgence.

Transnationalism: The interconnected flows of people, ideas and practices across borders that shape collective spatial identities and solidarities.

References

1. The mapping behind the movement: On recovering the critical cartographies of the African American Freedom Struggle. Geoforum (2021).
2. Narratives of resistance and decolonial futures in the politics of the Bermudian Black Power movement. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers (2021).
3. The Transnationalism of the Black Lives Matter Movement: Decolonization and Mapping Black Geographies in Sydney, Australia. Annals of the American Association of Geographers (2024).