Planning Embodying Justice in the Built Environment: Reparative Planning, Building Lifecycles, and Just Transitions

Some local governments in North America have committed to the reduction of embodied carbon associated with building lifecycles, which include material extraction, manufacturing, transportation, construction, maintenance, and end-of-life processes of the built environment. These decarbonization efforts could overlook opportunities to address social justice or worse: They have the potential to deepen inequities. In this Viewpoint we argue planners are uniquely positioned to advance embodied carbon reduction by applying a reparative justice lens. We introduce the Embodying Justice in the Built Environment framework as a resource to help local governments center justice and equity while striving toward decarbonization.