50 years ago today, the US Supreme Court ruled in Berman v. Parker that property could be taken for “public use” to remove slum and blight…but they, allowed the property to be transferred to another private party for development. This marked the first time that property was taken, and used for purely profit driven purposes – not a public use. Leading to what some have termed eminent domain abuse. The Castle Coalition has been fighting for property owners, read up on this case here.