The Climate-Just City

The imperative of climate change adds urgency to the longstanding equity agenda in cities and urban areas. Justice and equity issues arise in the climate change context because of the high prospects for impacts on already vulnerable people and communities. In this chapter we outline the framework of the climate-just city as a conceptual and analytical lens for taking the urban equity agenda forward within the context of climate change. Building on the concept of the 'just city' (see Fainstein, 2010) we argue the key tenets of democracy, diversity, recognition and equity must more explicitly take into account the complex links between human society, urban settlements and the natural environment. We apply this lens to our empirical research focused on enabling social innovation to climate change at the local scale within the Australian context. The chapter concludes by offering insights into how the (climate-) just city principles can be mobilized in practice.