As we develop reparative spatial justice strategies that reckon with, repair, and transform the racist foundations of land and housing policies in the United States, we are reminded that it is essential that we decommodify, rematriate, and increase accessibility to land for Indigenous, Black, and POC communities. This webinar, featuring the Center for Ethical Land Transition, discusses how communities, funders, and landowners can work to transition land out of the speculative market and into collective stewardship, so that we may all deepen our relationships to land and upend the logics of dispossession that underpin our property system.
Grounding Justice: Toward Reparative Spatial Futures in Land and Housing serves as an anchoring document for our work in reparative spatial justice. It is both a call to action and an open invitation for collaboration and discussion that embraces the conversations, tensions, and collective growth that this path demands.
In this inaugural publication, we highlight the critical need for a reparative spatial justice framework in land and housing policy. The paper uplifts key concepts, research findings, and perspectives from the field shedding light on the multifaceted nature of reparative spatial justice. Drawing from a comprehensive literature review compiled by the PolicyLink housing team and the empirical insights of qualitative research conducted by Social Insights, this paper also synthesizes conversations with advocates, frontline workers, and thought leaders in the fields of spatial justice, reparations, housing justice, and land justice. The fusion of these insights frames a set of evidence-based recommendations, charting a course for practitioners, researchers, policymakers, organizers, and advocates dedicated to this transformative work.