The Ethics of Cities

Shaping Policy for a Sustainable and Just Future

Timothy Beatley

• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN:
  9781469678634
  9781469678627
• eBook ISBN:
  9781469678641
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Ethics & Moral Philosophy

Ethical dilemmas and value conflicts affect cities globally, but urban leaders and citizens often avoid confronting them directly and instead view the governance of cities as primarily an administrative task or, even worse, a merely political one. Timothy Beatley challenges readers to consider the issues in our cities not simply as legal or economic problems but as moral ones, asking readers “How can a city become more ethical?” Beatley unearths, exposes, and explores the many ethical questions cities face today and touches on many topics, from privacy and crime to racism and the ethics of public space. Drawing from recent policy debates and using extensive examples to consider complex ethical dilemmas, Beatley argues that cities must expand the definition of the moral community to include all their citizens.

Cities must take profound steps to address social injustice and plan for climate change—both moral obligations—and this approachable and readable introduction to moral philosophy, urban planning, and social justice will help new generations to grapple with these global issues.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Halftitle Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• SIDEBARS
• Preface In Search of the Ethical City
• Halftitle Page
• Introduction An Ethical View of Cities
• 1 The Core Values of an Ethical City
• 2 Virtue in the City
• 3 Equality, Opportunity, Inclusiveness
• 4 Rights in and to the City
• 5 The Extent and Limits of Freedoms in the City
• 6 Ethical Policing and Use of Force
• 7 Panopticon City
• 8 A City’s Obligations to the Future
• 9 The Ethics of Local Democracy and the Need for Fair and Shared Governance
• 10 The Ethics of Public Spaces and the Public Realm
• 11 The Ethics of a Healthy and Flourishing City
• 12 The Ethics of Biophilic Cities
• 13 What Is a City’s Duty to the Larger World?
• 14 Working toward the Ethical City
• Acknowledgments
• Notes
• Index