Law Commons^™

Opportunity Zones, 1031 Exchanges, And Universal Housing Vouchers, Brandon Weiss

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 contained former President Trump's signature economic development initiative: the Opportunity Zone program. Allowing a deferral of capital gains tax for certain qualifying investments in low-income areas, the Opportunity Zone program aims to spur economic development by steering capital into economically distressed neighborhoods. The program is the latest iteration of an overly simplistic market-based approach to community development an approach that transcends political party-based on a flawed yet enduring notion that mere proximity of capital will solve deeply entrenched issues of poverty and racial inequality. In reality, the legacy of Opportunity Zones is …

The Dream Of Property Professors, Ezra Rosser

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Michael Heller and James Salzman's new book, Mine! How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives, is a dream come true for property professors.

I suspect that many of us have moments when we think to ourselves, "wow, this stuff is really interesting," imagining that property law could somehow be of general interest. Too often that dream is killed when the eyes of non-lawyers, including family members, start to glaze over when they hear words like rule against perpetuities or trademark. Heller and Salzman have succeeded in making the stories property professors tell the stuff of a bestseller. They …

State Interventions In Local Zoning, Ezra Rosser

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

In what has been described as an "emerging consensus" and pejoratively labeled an "elite liberaltarian consensus," there is growing scholarly recognition that land use overregulation is hurting the country by limiting the supply and increasing the price of housing. By highlighting state-level interventions that succeeded in checking local zoning authority, Professor Anika Lemar's article makes a valuable contribution to the fight against excessive zoning limitations.

Reclaiming State Authority Over Zoning Property, Ezra Rosser

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

In 2019, Oregon became the first state to pass legislation that essentially bans single-family zoning.' As states across the country struggle to respond to the housing affordability crisis, Oregon's actions do not stand alone. John Infranca's recent article, The New State Zoning: Land Use Preemption Amid a Housing Crisis, may have been published before Oregon's historic vote but it is essential reading for those interested in the future of zoning.

Property, Race, Segregation, And The State Property, Ezra Rosser

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Property scholars have neither forgotten nor ignored the government's role in creating and furthering racial segregation. Scholars have written extensive work on redlining, racially restrictive covenants, the siting of public housing in minority poor communities and the resistance of wealthier white towns to affordable housing.

Nevertheless, Richard Rothstein's book, The Color of Law, should be required reading for property scholars and students. Beautifully written, the book is packed with new details and stories that illustrate the many ways government-at the local, state, and federal levels-denied African-Americans equal access to space and property.

A Reprise Of The Case Of Eads V. Brazleton, Barlow Burke

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

For many first-year law students, the course in real property begins with the case of Eads v. Brazelton. The choice is well-considered, because the case allows the teacher to delve simultaneously into the laws of prior possession and finder's rights. Eads is a Mid-South version of Pierson v. Post, but thesuit is less shallow and the facts more appealing; something of value, other than a hunter's wounded pride, is at stake. Although decided in 1861, Eads continues to serve as authority for clearing title by abandonment. Additionally, the case enjoys renewed application for its rule of capture. Modern salvage cases …