Social geographies of race: connecting race and space

This article examines what it means to study race from a spatial perspective. In order to make explicit connections between spatial and racial processes, we present an interdisciplinary snapshot of the work being done under the banners of space and race, and offer a framework - a theory of racial space - for linking these concepts. We provide four key characteristics of space - contested, fluid and historical, interactional and relational, and defined by inequality and difference - that overlap with prevalent theorizing on race and racialization. We suggest that a framework of racial space provides a language for explaining the persistence of racial inequality in its varied, and often subtle, forms today, and reveals a useful analytical and practical pathway for challenging and changing the existing racial order.