BIO

Arthi Solayappan is a second-year student from Tampa, Florida, majoring in Political Science and minoring in Economics. She is exploring the impacts of using eminent domain to seize property for infrastructure and redevelopment in Tallahassee. Arthi hopes to bring awareness to arbitrary seizures that have previously occurred to develop reform policies to protect private property owners. She has been with the DeVoe L. Moore Center since Fall 2021. Arthi currently serves as a member of the SGA Campus Recreation Board and FSU Student Foundation Board of Trustees. In her free time, she enjoys reading and watching movies. In the future, she hopes to pursue a career in policymaking.

Historical Case Comparison of Infrastructure Projects in Tallahassee, Florida

Abstract

Scholars have well-documented the negative consequences of urban renewal policies during the 1950s and 1960s that led to the displacement of entire African American neighborhoods across the United States. This research asks: How have infrastructure policies changed, if at all, in terms of equity and affordable housing issues? Using historical documents, academic research, newspaper articles, and plans, this research evaluates the equitable use of eminent domain policies in public infrastructure projects by comparing the historic case of Smokey Hollow in the 1960s with the contemporary case of Capital Cascades Trail in 2011. Preliminary results show that the two cases are similar in terms of racial composition and land use. There have been improvements in state provisions and housing policies such as the 1970 Universal Relocation Act (URA). This is a federal provision of requiring replacement housing stock that was not present in the historical Smokey Hollow case. Future research should investigate the number of people experiencing homelessness and the loss of cultural amenities that result from the use of eminent domain in African American neighborhoods.

Keywords: Eminent Domain, Capital Cascades Trail, Smokey Hollow