Yes, actually. Not only that, they had political disputes and protests about it. I'll link the passage when I get to a computer, but the Greco-Roman orator Dio Chyrsostom, who was well connected to the emperor, wanted the rebuild the main street of his home city in fine monumental style. Unfortunately, this would entail relocating the shop owners who had such a favorable position along main street. They protested, and it seems they were able to muster the political muscle necessary to prevent the project. It is a fascinating example of civic politics, and a demonstration that even the very powerful were not entirely uninhibited.

We are privileged to have that episode from the literature, but there must have been many more like it that went unrecorded. Monumental architecture commonly replaces lower status structures in the archeological record. Sometimes this is after a fire conveniently frees up a great deal of space, as in Rome and Verulamium, but not always.