> C'mon, this is absurd. Why is this an either-or thing? Why is
> ED a "distraction" from the real important stuff? Why can't
> we think of two, even three things at once? And why is ED so
> unimportant if, as I spent the weekend showing, it's been
> central to the planning of New York and other urban areas for decades?
I think it is a "distraction" used by right wingers and the NIMBY crowd to oppose urban development. I do not know about NYC, but here in Baltimore nobody is being kicked into the streets becaouse of th eeminent domain. Au contraire, ordinary people demand that government use ED to kick out slumlords. Several years ago, ACLU sued Baltimore City and won to obtain order to demolish some of the worst slums, which they called "warehousing of the poor." Those who opposed this was suburban real estate and developer interestm led by the current repug governor Ehrlich, who feared that th epoor woul dbe relocated to their community.
I have been involved in various urban renewal/trabsportation meetings in Baltimore for th elat 10 years, including building a large Hope VI project, and demolotion of other public housing projects. I know for th efact that none of the residents were kicked out of their homes, all were offered alternative housing plus reimbursement of moving expenses. There was a lot of NIMBY opposition to these projects, tobe sure, and some of the residents were less then happy to move - but again, nobody was kicked into the street. So it is clear to me that it is public good resulting from the demoliti0oj of some of the worst slums in the city vs mere inconvenience of some.
Therefore, I do not see ED as an issue. I am not denying that it might be abused, just like anything else, but it does not mean it is inherently bad. If fact, I see it as inherently good, if used properly. In the same vein, laws are sometimes abused - but that does not mean we should get rid of them. Moreover, I also see urban renewal project as an inherently good thing that get rid of the urban blight and benefit the public at large. Again, sometimes the process is abused, but that only calls for a larger public involvement and vigilance, not for abolishing of these projects.
In my experience in Baltimore, I did not see much evidence of abuse, if anything the city is too reluctant and too deferential to slumlords. The main opposition to the urban renewal come from the NIMBY crowd and suburban right-wingers.
Wojtek