Law Commons^™

Rethinking "Just" Compensation: Dignity Restoration As A Basis For Supplementing Existing Takings Remedies With Government-Supported Community Building Initiatives, Alyssa M. Hasbrouck

Cornell Law Review

Longstanding calls for the Supreme Court to revisit the Takings Clause's just compensation requirement are especially relevant in light of urban renewal's destructive history. However, the just compensation requirement should be viewed as a floor, not as a ceiling. Even in the absence of formal action by courts, legislatures and local governments can act to fulfill the government's constitutional obligation of "full and perfect" compensation. By taking preemptive action to support community-based initiatives, financially as well as politically, the same legislatures that seized and destroyed urban neighborhoods can begin to set things right. Court-ordered investments in the longterm well-being of …