Evaluating the city from an ethical perspective: An assessment of the New Urban Agenda

It is possible to think of cities, which play a critical role in the relationship between human and nature and are the field of research for many disciplines such as history, sociology, economics and architecture due to their sphere of influence, as a reflection of society, as they are in a state of constant change and transformation. Today, there is a parallelism between the increase in urbanization and social problems. It is known that more than half of the global population lives in cities, and this rate is expected to increase rapidly. This population growth causes various social, political, economic, environmental and spatial problems in cities. If no measures are taken, the sustainability of cities that cannot ensure their resilience in the face of these problems and cannot show sufficiency against the existing population has become a worrying issue. This thesis points to the importance of the concept of urban ethics, which is a contemporary approach to protecting the resilience of cities, ensuring their sustainability, eliminating socio-economic inequalities and ensuring urban welfare for all individuals, questioning cities from an ethical point of view and questioning what "good life" and "right life" are. Within the scope of the study, in order to develop a holistic approach to the concept of urban ethics, the approaches of seven researchers/research groups were discussed on the axis of four questions. As a result of the evaluation, some concepts were found repetitive, and the basic principles of urban ethics were determined by grouping these concepts under social, economic, political, environmental and planning themes. In order to concretize urban ethics, The New Urban Agenda declaration, a recent study focusing on cities, was analyzed within the framework of the principles determined. It has been concluded that the implementation and localization of the declaration, which is understood to indirectly contribute to urban ethics, will be facilitated when the urban ethics approach is prioritized. In conclusion, while recognizing that the concept of urban ethics offers a critical approach to the sustainability of cities, this study reveals that the principles of urban ethics will only provide a reference for the evaluation of cities, and that the principles can change and evolve, taking into account that the potential and problems of each city may be different.