WSU law professor says Detroit needs eminent domain to deal with vacancy

John Mogk, a law professor at Wayne State University, argues that the city needs eminent domain to take care of its vacant land problem. This is a touchy subject here in Detroit -- and in most urban environments. What are your thoughts? Let us know on our Facebook page here.

Excerpt from the Detroit Free Press:

Because assembling land parcels large enough to build 21st Century manufacturing or shipping facilities requires eminent domain, the city's legal right to acquire land quickly for projects that will lead to the public good.

In 2006, Michigan voters amended the state's constitution to prohibit the use of eminent domain for economic development.
How could it be that large enough parcels of land aren't available for development when the city is plagued with 50 square miles of unused, vacant lots?

Here's how: Detroit's enormous inventory of vacant land has reverted randomly, in a giant patchwork of tens of thousands of small, legally separate, geographically disconnected lots interwoven with hundreds of private parcels. To bring industry to Detroit, you would need to put together a single piece of land from this patchwork. But to negotiate the purchase of each lot is not logistically practical and often not possible without eminent domain.

Read the entire article here.