Abstract

The world is experiencing the greatest wave of urban growth in history. This chapter argues that the idea of justice in the urban context must come to terms with the problem of ecological sustainability. There is a need to rethink the relationship between city and nature beyond the functionalist schema that sees the role of the countryside as providing food for cities and raw materials for industry. The study suggests that while market forces have entered and begun to define the terms of the sustainable development debate, the ecology movement has brought to the fore new principles of urban justice, such as climate, food, and ecological justice. These normative principles have emphasized the ethics of urban life in terms of caring for others, caring for the earth, and doing one’s fair share. While technology and technical solutions are important in responding to the climate crisis, the problem requires a fundamental expansion of morality. If city dwellers are reluctant to embrace the full implications of such moral principles, an ecological tragedy is imminent. Aristotelian ethics and the notion of eudaimonia could be the solution to the tragedy of the commons that humanity is slowly but surely approaching.