The Ethical City is on ongoing body of research conducted by the Stage 5 students and staff of the final diploma year at the Mackintosh School of Archietcture in Glasgow. The aim is to study a different European city each academic year and establish patterns and connections between these cities and Glasgow; to learn from one another how to circumnavigate the obstacles to sustainable regenerative urban repair, and to collate a tool box of powerful methodolgy to achieve long term positive urban change.

Reflecting upon Glasgow while discovering and absorbing Brussels and Marseille at once invites comparison and contrast between cities, their geographic situations, topographies and climates as well as the potent political, economic, social and cultural aspects which have shaped, and continue to shape, their particular morphologies and character. As in any city, the relative constancy or shifting dynamics of these influential forces have variously informed the continuous process of urban repair, renewal, reinvigoration and sometimes reinvention. Finding meaningful architectural expression which harnesses anticipated change is one of the most creative challenges of any urban architecture, one which is truly relevant to place, purpose and people.

With the ongoing threat of more pandemics, the climate emergency, and political upheaval across the globe manifest in direct action, strikes and outright rebellion from ordinarily placid populations, we are asking the question, what is the future of our cities, can we mend their urban scars, support people in the daily struggles, mitigate and send into reverse climate change? The choices that we make as urbanists and architects can no longer be separated from our ethical postions.

Each individual thesis investigation will reveal a set of ethical questions, observations and issues and archietcural responses. The thesis investigation will clearly evidence the gathering, organisation, analysis, sythesis and deployment of data, research and theory, which will generate an original intellectual position, and a creative responsive architectural proposal.