Justice by Design

Abstract

Abstract We extend to animal dwellers the values of equity and inclusivity, which inform existing conceptions of smart sustainable cities. Leveraging multispecies justice theory, we argue that just smart cities should offer animals opportunities to pursue biologically relevant goals and achieve basic species-specific capabilities. Through cases of human–animal cohabitation, we exemplify how just smart cities should: support animals’ sensemaking of and interaction with urban affordances, enabling them to autonomously pursue their biological goals; manage affordances by balancing the interests of one species against the interests of other species, as well as the interests of individuals against the interests of groups; and account for different perspectives and narratives on interspecies relationships, when making and implementing decisions. We propose an iterative design model in which technological interventions informed by multispecies justice principles and multispecies empirical data enable the emergence of incrementally equitable and inclusive cohabitation forms for increasing ranges of species and individuals.