The Spectre of Condemnation, Revisited

In 2007, the Show-Me Institute released a study discussing the negative impact that eminent domain has had on families and communities in Missouri. Today, the Post-Dispatch ran a story that functions well as a follow-up to that study.

The article presents a list of “redevelopment” projects that have loomed for years, leaving property owners helplessly wondering when (and if) the projects will go forward. Whether the owners would be happy to sell and move on with their lives, or whether they would rather chain themselves to their homes than lose them to developers, the lingering threat of redevelopment has helped to drive these neighborhoods into disrepair and decay.