Archive | Eminent Domain

No Choo-Choo for Only One Person

Sparta, Georgia land owners have teamed up with the Institute for Justice to challenge a private railroad’s attempt to take their land by eminent domain for a rail spur that would benefit one private business. The Institute’s web page provides detailed information of the case, and we quote their release here: A private railroad company does not get to exercise the government’s power of eminent domain for the benefit of a private business. But in one small town in Georgia, that’s exactly what a railroad company is attempting to do…. read more

Posted in Eminent Domain, Eminent Domain Abuse, Railroad Takings
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Lowballing African-American Farmers in a $5.6 Billion Project

A largely rural African-American farming region in western Tennessee is subject to condemnations for a series of road connections and widenings that will link a 4,100-acre Blue Oval Ford campus to a new Exit 39 off of I-40 to accommodate throngs of workers and truck traffic.  Ford Motor Company broke ground on its future $5.6 billion electric truck plant a year ago. The state is seeking 35 separate tracts of land by purchase or eminent domain.  Thus far the state has taken possession of 15 tracts.  The path of the… read more

Posted in Eminent Domain, Just Compensation, Lowball Offers
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The Poppleton Area of Baltimore Still Suffering from Eminent Domain Policies

Former residents of the Poppleton neighborhood of Baltimore filed a Complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing against Baltimore City. According to a report published in NPR, the administrative complaint filed against the city, its Mayor Brandon Scott and Baltimore City Council alleges that the city violated the federal Fair Housing Act. That federal law prohibits individuals from being discriminated against when renting or buying a home, seeking a mortgage, housing assistance and other such activities, according to HUD.  Individuals are protected against discrimination of race, color, national origin, religion,… read more

Posted in Eminent Domain, Racial Bias, Urban Renewal
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Urban Renewal, An Assault on Black Neighborhoods

The Federal Housing Act of 1949, which was in effect from 1949 through 1973, authorized cities to use the power of eminent domain to clear “blighted neighborhoods” for “higher use.”  According to an excellent paper published by the Institute for Justice, “Eminent Domain and African Americans,” written by Mindy Thomson Fillilove, MD, in 24 years, 2,532 projects were carried out in 992 cities that displaced one million people, two-thirds of them African American. African Americans, who were 12% of the population in the US, were five times more likely to… read more

Posted in Blight, Eminent Domain, Racism in Urban Planning, Urban Renewal
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Bruce’s Beach – The Final Chapter

We wrote about Bruce’s Beach, located in Manhattan Beach, California on August 5, 2021 and October 7, 2021, an old case which has sparked national “condemnation” was the 1924 taking of “Bruce’s Beach.”  The resort was established by Willa and Charles Bruce in 1912.  It was a destination where black tourists could swim, dance, eat and rest. The City claimed that it needed the property for a public park, but left it undeveloped.  The condemnation was clearly motivated by racism. Manhattan Beach has been grappling with the history of Bruce’s… read more

Posted in Bruce's Beach, Eminent Domain
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