Putting Equality in Place: The Normative Foundations of Geographic Equality of Opportunity

This article explores the normative principles underlying the geography of opportunity perspective and provides a justification for equalizing the geographic dimensions of economic opportunity. The article proposes a conception of geographic equality of opportunity (GEO) that provides an account of: (a) why geographic equality matters; (b) why opportunities are the appropriate currency of geographic equality; and (c) how the geographic distribution of resources and residential mobility relate to equality of opportunity. GEO requires that certain geographic resources be spatially uniform or equally accessible, and that any differences in economic outcomes be traceable to autonomous choices and not morally arbitrary conditions such as one’s race or birth location.