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Abstract: This study examines how eminent domain has historically and contemporarily shaped racialized patterns of displacement and socio‑economic inequality in New York City's Black communities. Drawing on a convergent mixed‑methods design, the analysis integrates aggregate quantitative indicators (1991–2019) with archival qualitative materials (municipal records, published oral histories, and institutional reports). The historical lens revisits well-documented cases—including Seneca Village (formerly of Manhattan), Idlewild (formerly of Queens), during the expansion of today's John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Van Cortlandt Park (The Bronx)—to illustrate how takings, framed as urban improvement, facilitated dispossession and long-term community fragmentation. Contemporary policy mechanisms (e.g., zoning and prominent infrastructure siting) are assessed for their distributional effects using neighborhood‑level exposure measures and spatial context. Findings indicate that land-assembly practices and valuation regimes have repeatedly externalized costs onto Black neighborhoods, while benefits have accrued elsewhere. Archival narratives further illuminate the cultural loss and erosion of social capital, which are not captured in economic statistics. The study contributes a policy-facing synthesis, including equity screens for takings, strengthened compensation standards (such as relocation and cultural-loss recognition), participatory planning mandates, anti-displacement triggers, transparency and auditing provisions, and reparative investment commitments. By bringing historical evidence into dialogue with present-day governance practices, the article advances an equity-centered framework for assessing when, where, and how eminent domain should be exercised to avoid perpetuating racialized harms and to support durable, inclusive urban redevelopment. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.51505/ijaemr.2025.1514 |
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