What goes around, comes back around

After reading through this piece, I couldn't help but feel that I had been slapped in the face by a liberal. This isn't a bad thing necessarily, as I am not against people with a liberal mindset. It got me thinking about how we as designers in school aim to solve these issues that Soja talks about. We tend to create these utopian projects, that we know will not get built but aim to solve problems based on trends and things we know of. The use of public space, something James and I are doing now, in hopes of garnering a collective/communal feeling in downtown Anderson for all residents, not just a selected bunch. While none of us know how successful our public spaces or projects will play out, we aim to use this as a solution to create some kind of spatial justice. From here, as I continued to read on, my mindset shifted to wondering how this problem arose. We live in a generation more so now than ever where social equality and equality for all is something that is demanded and should be given. I am not against this notion at all. I myself, as an immigrant, as a person of color, fall in the category of a minority, and the equality that I have received has brought me to where I am now. The problem that I see with this issue however, is the fact that once equality is granted, or once something for the better is done for someone who is disadvantaged, that same person tends to not do anything to take advantage of that justice. We live in a society where the rich are ridiculed because of the money they have, but generally they have worked to be in that position. My family themselves were in a state where this spatial injustice could have affected them. Leaving two countries they called home, my parents adjusted and made moves necessary to provide the better life that we all strive for. Starting from scratch in two countries, completely new to them. Nothing was handed to them. They created their own opportunity to be in the position they are in now. So my issue with this idea of spatial injustice is what happens when that justice is given? I hope that opportunities arise from it for people who could have never had it otherwise. But the question is, how many take advantage of it? That is the root of this problem of spatial injustice, when people do not take advantage of opportunities in front of them, they fall back into the categories that held them back. Spatial justice will be served, the question is who will take advantage of it?

Spatial Justice?