Space

The right to land is something that is a controversial topic around the world. Especially in developing countries, land is becoming more and more privatized and the people directly affected usually are the ones without a voice. This is apparent in an urban development plans, because all of the nice amenities and buildings go in the suburban areas with the wealthy members of society, and the unwanted development, such as landfills and factories, are almost always put in low income neighborhoods. The problem with this is that the people in the neighborhoods are at the mercy of whatever environmental impact the development might have.  This is because they usually do not have the option to choose where they live, their income dictates it. They also are the ones without the voice in the debate for the development. This is because the companies and policy makers are the ones that have deep enough pockets to be heard by the people who matter. This is a problem because it’s hard to understand why the safety of many people can be outweighed by the money and lobbying ability of a few. I feel that the way development is carried out in the future needs to have a more utilitarian feel to it, where the best is done for the largest amount of people, and not just the wealthy ones. This debate on space is far more prominent in developing countries, but the issue is also common here in one of the most developed countries in the world. You would think that we could figure this out and get it right.