**Aims:** Urban public spaces are key settings in which spatial justice is experienced in everyday urban life. Their inclusiveness cannot be assessed solely through physical availability or geographical distribution, because different social groups may experience unequal opportunities for access, use, safety, participation, and meaningful engagement. This study aimed to explain the nature of urban public-space inclusiveness within the framework of spatial justice in Tabriz, Iran. It moved beyond a predominantly distributive understanding of spatial justice by examining how physical, social, economic, and cultural conditions shape citizens’ actual experiences of public space. Inclusiveness was therefore conceptualized not simply as formal accessibility, but as the real possibility for diverse groups to use, experience, and participate in public spaces safely, independently, equitably, and meaningfully.

**Materials & Methods:** The study employed a qualitative approach and a case-study strategy. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews, systematic field observations, and examination of relevant documents. Fifteen participants were purposively selected based on their knowledge of or experience with public spaces in Tabriz, including five university experts in urban planning and design, six urban managers and professionals, and four citizens. Data collection continued until data saturation was reached and no new themes emerged. Interview data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis procedure with the assistance of NVivo software. The analytical process included familiarization with the data, inductive generation of initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing and refining themes, defining and naming themes, and developing the final analytical interpretation. Spatial justice was not imposed as a predetermined coding structure but was used as the theoretical lens for interpreting themes emerging from the data. The analysis generated 287 initial codes, which were progressively organized, reviewed, and conceptually integrated into 34 subthemes and 12 main themes. At the interpretive level, the themes were organized into four interconnected dimensions: physical, social, economic, and cultural. Frequencies of coded references were used only to describe the structure of the analyzed data and were not interpreted as indicators of the importance, intensity, or priority of particular dimensions.

**Findings:** The findings showed that public-space inclusiveness is a multidimensional and relational phenomenon rather than a condition determined by a single physical attribute. The physical dimension encompassed spatial accessibility and continuity, environmental quality and safety, urban design and furniture, and adaptability to diverse users and activities. The social dimension highlighted citizen participation, perceived security, social interaction, and opportunities for different groups to engage meaningfully in public life. The economic dimension concerned equitable access to resources and services, affordability of using public spaces, and the economic sustainability of their provision and maintenance. The cultural dimension emphasized recognition of cultural diversity, local identity, place attachment, and the representation of different groups’ experiences and values in shared urban environments. Integrated interpretation demonstrated that these dimensions operate through interconnected relationships. Physical accessibility can enable presence, but inadequate safety or environmental quality may restrict actual use. Similarly, formal accessibility does not necessarily ensure inclusiveness when economic constraints limit continued use or when particular cultural identities and needs remain unrecognized. Citizen participation can improve the responsiveness of planning and management to diverse needs, while recognition of local identity and cultural diversity can strengthen attachment and sustained engagement. Thus, inclusiveness emerges through the interaction of environmental usability, safety, participation, equitable economic access, and cultural recognition rather than through physical accessibility alone.

**Conclusion:** The study concludes that public space cannot be considered inclusive merely because it is publicly accessible or geographically available. Inclusiveness requires the actual possibility for diverse citizens to enter, use, experience, participate in, and establish meaningful relationships with public space under equitable conditions. The study extends the interpretation of spatial justice beyond the distribution of urban resources toward the equitable experience of public space. From this perspective, distributive justice concerns access to resources and opportunities, procedural justice concerns meaningful participation in decisions, and recognition-oriented justice concerns acknowledgement of differences in users’ needs, identities, and experiences. Consequently, interventions limited to increasing the quantity of public spaces or improving isolated physical elements are unlikely to ensure inclusiveness unless social, economic, and cultural conditions are simultaneously addressed. Urban planning and management in Tabriz should therefore evaluate public spaces through integrated criteria encompassing accessibility, environmental quality, safety, affordability, participation, adaptability, cultural diversity, and local identity. As a qualitative case study, the findings are context-dependent and should not be interpreted as statistical estimates of all public spaces. Future research can examine the proposed framework in other urban contexts through comparative studies, citizen surveys, GIS-based accessibility analysis, and mixed-method designs. Overall, inclusive public spaces require an integrated, experience-based, and spatially just approach to urban planning, design, and management.