JUSTICEPUR: WHY PEOPLE, NOT PROFIT, MUST GUIDE URBAN INTERVENTIONS

Abstract

Contemporary urban planning often defaults to economic rationale, which is not always conducive to human happiness, as it results in cities that are designed for profit instead of people. The essay presents “Justicepur,” a normative framework for creating a “Just and Flourishing City”, where social outcomes reign over economic efficiency. Applying this framework to Barcelona, the study reveals critical duality, the article shows that city's Superblocks have successfully implemented the 15-Minute City concept regarding proximity and green infrastructures but at the same time it hides deeper structural inequalities. Analysis reveals that environmental interventions in areas such as Poblenou brought property prices up by about €3,000 per square meter, hence effectively forcing working-class people out of the area. Moreover, the Decidim platform in Barcelona, despite being billed as an instrument of digital participatory democracy, channels a maximum 0.5–1.5% of eligible resident participation and is mo.