Expropriation in Puerto Rico

In a new report (released August 6), the Institute for Justice (IJ) gives Puerto Rico’s eminent domain laws a grade of “F.” IJ is a nonprofit, civil liberties law firm dedicated to ending eminent domain abuse:  when the government seizes private property not for traditional public uses, but for private development. The report examines Puerto…

In this report, Director of Strategic Research Dick Carpenter responds to commentary on his article about the effects of eminent domain on poor and minority communities. Suggested citation: Carpenter, D. M. (2011). Comment on Carpenter and Ross (2009): Eminent domain and equity—A reply. Urban Studies, 48(16), 3621-3628. Click here to read the full report.

After the U.S. Supreme Court upheld in the Kelo decision the use of eminent domain for private-to-private transfer of property for economic development, public outrage was followed by attempts to restrict such use of eminent domain. Opponents of restrictions predicted dire consequences for state and local economies. This study considers whether restricting the use of eminent domain…

On June 23, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision called Kelo v. City of New London,[1] ruled that private economic development is a public use under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and that governments could take people’s homes, small businesses and other property to hand over to private developers in…

Before there were Tea Parties, there was Kelo. Susette Kelo’s name turned into a movement. Her loss of her property was the final straw for Americans in 2005. When they heard about the Kelo decision, homeowners and small businesses across this country refused to accept the idea that a well-connected developer could turn city hall…

An analysis of the populations living in areas of New York City under threat of condemnation for private development finds that such eminent domain abuse disproportionately targets those who are less well-off and less educated, as well as ethnic and racial minorities—populations least able to fight back to protect their homes and businesses. In New…

New York is perhaps the worst state in the nation when it comes to eminent domain abuse. Government jurisdictions and agencies statewide have condemned or threatened to condemn homes and small businesses for the New York Stock Exchange, The New York Times, IKEA and Costco.

In dissenting from the US Supreme Court’s 2005 Kelo decision upholding the use of eminent domain for private-to-private transfers of property, Justices O’Connor and Thomas asserted, based on the history of urban renewal, that eminent domain for private development would disproportionately hurt poor and minority communities. This study uses US census data and a sample of redevelopment…

The former chairman and chief executive of New York state’s Urban Development Corporation reveals how Times Square succeeded for reasons that had little to do with government condemnation schemes and everything to do with public policy that allowed the market to work.

This report documents how homes, farms and small businesses across Texas have been threatened by eminent domain for private gain.

An independent developer details the outrageous bureaucratic and regulatory hurdles small developers must pass in order to build private projects.

Baltimore’s redevelopment strategy has long been deeply flawed and eminent domain has negatively impacted the city’s renewal.

The report summarizes the legal history and areas of contention behind eminent domain for private development in California.

When the U.S. Supreme Court upheld eminent domain for private development in the 2005 Kelo case, the public reacted with shock and outrage, leading to a nationwide movement to reform state laws and curb the abuse of eminent domain for private gain. By the end of 2007, 42 states had passed some type of eminent…

Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s now-infamous decision in Kelo v. New London, 44 states have passed new laws aimed at curbing the abuse of eminent domain for private use.

In Kelo v. City of New London—one of the most reviled U.S. Supreme Court decisions in history—the Court upheld the use of eminent domain by governments to take someone’s private property and give it to another for private economic development. In a major expansion of eminent domain power, the now-infamous Kelo decision marked the first…

The former mayor of Anaheim, Calif., describes how that city’s leadership brought economic vibrancy to one neighborhood without resorting to any takings of private property. He also explores the successes and failures of other cities around the nation in economic redevelopment.

Eminent domain has become what the Founding Fathers sought to prevent: a tool that takes from the poor and the politically weak to give to the rich and the politically powerful.

In the fight to protect home and small business owners from the government’s abuse of eminent domain, it was only a matter of time until the apologists of the practice—taking property from one private individual and transferring it to another—began their counteroffensive. Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s infamous and widely despised decision in Kelo v.…

Washington state law is rife with opportunities for eminent domain abuse.

One year after the U.S. Supreme Court case, Kelo v. New London, local governments threatened eminent domain or condemned at least 5,783 homes, businesses, churches and other properties so that they could be transferred to another private party.

Cities and developers tend to overhype the benefits of private development projects that use eminent domain. But many of these projects are failures.

The report debunks several of the most prevalent myths about eminent domain for private gain.

This white paper explains to both legislators and the general public why eminent domain reform is needed after the Kelo v. New London decision.

Activistas de todo el país han utilizado la información de este Manual de Supervivencia para proteger con éxito sus hogares y pequeños negocios del uso abusivo del dominio eminente. Este Manual de Supervivencia se elaboró partiendo de las estrategias prácticas más eficaces que existen para proteger su propiedad sin llegar a tribunales, con el fin…

In the first-ever report to document private-to-private takings, the Institute for Justice found more than 10,000 instances of eminent domain abuse in just a five-year-period.

The Institute for Justice brings together the 10 most egregious uses of eminent domain for private purposes from 1998 to 2001.