For a moment, public attention seemed to focus on the social and economic inequalities of our cities. As cities across the world adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses, cashiers, people working in food industries, cleaners and delivery workers were called essential workers. While those of us in “less essential” work retreated to our home offices and virtual workspaces, many working-class people were threatened with punitive measures and ordered to brave the pandemic with their bodies, day after day, in public and in their physical places of work (Vegh Weis and Magnin 2021). Not that this was reflected in their pay checks; essential workers continued to toil on wages often insufficient to meet their essential needs (Ferreira 2021). As we stopped eating in restaurants and going to the movies, the CEOs of global corporate giants like streaming services and food delivery platforms enjoyed excessive salaries and bonuses while their employees’ incomes saw little or no change. Many lost their jobs altogether as small businesses had to close. And as unemployment soared, people in big cities especially began to fall behind on their rent and mortgage payments. Landlords raising rent or selling their investment properties during the pandemic put tenants at particular risk of eviction (Rogers and Power 2020). Marginalised groups everywhere, including LGBTQI+ people, sex workers, people who suffer from addictions, and those experiencing homelessness, were hit hardest by restrictions and penalties that exposed them to further discrimination and human rights abuses.