Rat-City. Living in Highly Dense Cities in the Future: The urban rat as an analytical spatial tool Part 2 Dissertation 2019 Lorraine Whistance RIBA Studio | UK This dissertation is a theoretical exploration of an alternative approach to living sustainably in highly dense cities, employing the social analysis of the wild, urban brown rat as the analytical spatial tool.Even metaphorically, finding parallels with humans and a creature so synonymous with poor living conditions and the pathological city may seem perverse; many people have strong visceral reactions to it, nevertheless it is universally accepted as the model for understanding human physiology, disease and genetics. Using this dichotomy, this paper seeks to examine the value of Rattus norvegicus in widening architectural discussion.It follows the rats’ commensal relationship with humans throughout the history of the dense compact city, taking the experiments of ethologist John B. Calhoun to examine the consequences of overcrowding in both humans and rodents. With the rat as the antithesis of order and uniformity, the work looks back at the failed model of the rational city over the last century and Gordon Matta-Clarks’s urban analysis, before synthesising the research into Rat-City, as a surreal world of new inhabitants.The dissertation is a unique approach to explore how resilient communities might live closer together and be encouraged to take active participation in our dense urban future. Tutor(s) Tonia Carless