Do people have a right to the city? Do longtime residents and businesses have a right to remain where they are? If so, how should local governments, urban planners, and other decision-makers ensure these rights are maintained?*

I believe that people absolutely have rights to the cities in which they live. In my opinion the residents of that city should have the most rights as well as say in what happens to the city. This is because when people move or live somewhere for an excessive amount of time, it becomes their home and they’ll most likely know what will bring up their homes or be harmful to the area. Because of this as we’ve seen in both films My Brooklyn and Citizen Jane: Battle for the City people were evicted from their homes, and businesses owners were forced from the property. I’m against this because I feel that these people are entitled to stay were they are regardless of city plans. If they’ve been there for a certain amount of time it’s only right to allow them to stay on the premises. It’s one thing to buy these people out and it’s another to force them to pack up and leave, just to renovate these properties for large corporations and/or luxury housing. Whenever this happens to a city, it’s always another person’s choice and not the decision of those who live or conduct business in the area. The local governments, urban planners, and other decision-makers should have a community meeting with these people and work out deals that’s beneficial to everyone, not just those one percenters or politicians. They should include the community on new plans as well as take suggestions from the people of the community.