The group exhibition and interdisciplinary research focused on artistic and theoretical reflections on urban ethnography and the role of civic projects in public space. The initial motivation for the exhibition and accompanying program was an effort to share examples of so-called good practice, where local communities attempt to create, mostly on their own, a functional social and material environment for a dignified life. The key to the selected locations is the important role of architects and artists, who act as one of the main drivers of change in the projects.
One of the important figures who joined the Who Owns the City project is Ladislav Zářecký, a student of ethnology at the Institute of Ethnology at Charles University. He focuses primarily on urban critical theory and anthropology and also works in Ústí nad Labem. Together with Hraničář, he initiated the creation of the Platform for Urban Creativity and Criticism, which operated in parallel with the exhibition Who Owns the City and opened up space for urban co-creation, knowledge sharing, discussion, and research on the city of Ústí nad Labem.
As an idea, concept, and political demand, the "right to the city" was first introduced in 1968 by French Marxist philosopher and sociologist Henri Lefebvre, and subsequently became a commonly used prism for contemporary society. It is used by both urban theorists and urban social movements. In the Czech Republic, this concept was relatively unknown until the second decade of the 21st century, during which society began to become increasingly aware of the negative impacts of neoliberalization on the livability of post-socialist cities.
