Urban Spatial Justice and the Distribution of Planning Benefits in Nigeria: A Normative and Empirical Analysis

Spatial justice, understood as the equitable distribution of planning benefits and burdens across urban space and social groups, provides a normative foundation for evaluating planning systems yet remains theoretically and empirically underdeveloped in the Nigerian planning context. This doctoral study develops a normative spatial justice framework for urban planning evaluation and applies it empirically across five Nigerian cities: Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, and Enugu. Drawing on Rawlsian justice theory, Soja's spatial justice concept, and African philosophy frameworks including Ubuntu, the study constructs a distinctly Nigerian spatial justice normative theory. Empirically, the framework is operationalized through a spatial benefit distribution index measuring per-capita public infrastructure investment, planning service quality, and development opportunity distribution across income-stratified urban zones in each city. Primary data from 1,500 household surveys document experienced planning benefits and burdens, while spatial analysis of planning investment records provides independent measurement. Comparative cross-city analysis identifies institutional and political factors associated with more versus less just planning outcomes. Original contributions include the Nigerian Spatial Justice Planning Framework, an empirical spatial justice index adaptable to other African planning contexts, and theoretical synthesis of Western and African philosophical foundations for planning justice. The study concludes with a rights-based planning reform agenda for Nigerian urban authorities grounded in the developed normative framework. Keywords: Spatial justice, Urban planning, Normative framework, Nigeria, Planning equity.