The Just City Lab

Turning five years of city data into a framework for justice.

2024–present · Design research · Public sector · Data synthesis · Facilitation

problem

Cities had no shared way to measure whether design and planning make them more just.

my role

Research Assistant → Just City Lab Fellow

what I did

Co-facilitated a fellowship for 38 mayors and 77 civic leaders, analysed 5 years of data, helped build the Index.

result

The Just City Index, a 50-point framework cities use to track progress.

at a glance

duration
Dec 2024 – present
collaborators
The Just City Lab · 38 mayors · 77 civic leaders · City of Durham
methods
Data analysis · framework design · facilitation · report writing

01Understand

Justice is easy to promise and hard to measure

Five years of fellowship outputs, reflections and city actions sat in different formats, with no common yardstick.

02Synthesise

What cities actually changed

I analysed and coded the program data to find where cities made progress and where they stalled.

03Structure

A framework is a design object

The findings became the 50-point Just City Index.

The Just City Index

04Facilitate

115 leaders, one conversation

I co-facilitated sessions with 38 mayors and 77 civic leaders and curated workshops for public officials.

Mayors' fellowship

05Now

From index to investment

As a Just City Lab Fellow I work with the City of Durham on a resident-governed Small Area Mutual Investment Fund designed to prevent displacement.

Who decides

38

mayors

77

civic leaders

5 yrs

of data

50

point framework

impact

  • Mayors and civic leaders

    A shared yardstick for just planning

    115 fellowship participants

  • City governments

    Track their own progress

    50-point Index

  • Durham residents

    A say in neighbourhood reinvestment

    Fund governance, ongoing

what I learned

  • Officials need findings they can act on in one meeting.
  • A framework is a design object.

tools

  • Data analysis
  • Framework design
  • Facilitation
  • Report writing