Might makes blight: eminent domain gone bad.

• Author: Root, Damon W.
• Position: Citings - Brief article

IN 1998 THE pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced plans to build a giant new research and development center in New London, Connecticut. As part of the deal, city officials agreed to clear out neighboring property owners via eminent domain, giving a private developer space to build a fancy new hotel, apartment buildings, and office towers to complement the Pfizer facility. Seven years later, in Kelo v. City of New London, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld this seizure of private property because it was part of a "comprehensive redevelopment plan" that would provide "appreciable benefits to the community."

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So how did that work out? The project that was used to entice Pfizer was never built, and in November the company...