Abstract
In this essay the author claims that redevelopment of public space and the built environment does more than just relocate people; it redefines them as well. After detailing how people have been redefined in the efforts of city redevelopment using San Francisco as a case study, an analysis of Ivan Illich's reading of the Good Samaritan story is provided in order to suggest what type of moral imagination and practices are required as cities are redeveloped. This analysis emphasizes the critical importance of bodily presence when serving another and a willingness to accept a degree of the tragic in everyday life.
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