PhD Candidate Diana Khaziakhmetova published in The Polar Journal

Kudos to PhD Candidate, Diana Khaziakhmetova, whose article, "Bridging Indigenous and municipal perspectives on justice in open public spaces of the urban Arctic," has just been published in The Polar Journal. 

Abstract:
This paper analyses Indigenous and municipal perspectives on justice in open public spaces in Fairbanks, Alaska. Drawing on visits and conversations, it examines how each group frames public space usage and management through lenses of climate, environmental, spatial, and social justice. Indigenous communities emphasise ecological restoration, more-than-human relations, subsistence, renewable energy, cultural continuity, place naming, healing, and decision-making authority. Municipal authorities focus on environmental messaging, recreational infrastructure, resilience, outreach, cultural programming, walkability, and transit. Climate justice presents the strongest alignment, particularly around safety, cultural traditions, climate adaptation, and responses to extreme weather. Although collaborative initiatives like public art offer starting points, they often fall short of addressing systemic inequalities. By identifying tensions and common ground, this paper highlights opportunities for more inclusive municipal planning that is led by Indigenous justice perspectives in Arctic cities.