The Ambiguous Word That Can Legally Bulldoze Neighborhoods | WSJ

Politicians across the county are seizing property for billions of dollars of redevelopment projects using one term: blight. The word generally refers to substandard and unsanitary conditions, but determining what is and isn't blighted can be subjective.

WSJ explains why it’s hard to define, and how it’s used across the U.S. to allow state and local governments to claim eminent domain on real estate.

0:00 What does the word “blight” mean in relation to real estate seizure?
0:59 How the standards for defining blight are looked at differently across cities
1:55 How city governments use eminent domain for redevelopment projects
3:36 Why some residents are against blight designations

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