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The Urban Lawyer,
Vol. 33, No. 1, Winter 2001 Publication Date: April 10, 2001Dwight H. Merriam, Reengineering Regulation to Avoid Takings, 33 Urb. Law. 1 (Winter 2001). The thesis of this article is that most, perhaps all, inverse condemnation takings, both regulatory and physical takings, are avoidable. It discusses, through an in-depth summary of case law, an obvious key in avoiding takings—the government often has the choice of not regulating and always has the option of condemning a property for a proper public use or purpose. Richard G. Lorenz, Good Fences Make Bad Neighbors, 33 Urb. Law. 45 (Winter 2001). This article attempts to draw together three independent ideas touching upon the problems facing American cities. These include the concept of regional community, the theories behind "principled negotiation," and local government law. The article’s basic thesis is that states can and should modify existing local government laws to facilitate principled inter-city negotiations for the purpose of building more effective regional communities. This argument can be divided into two related claims: (1) that cities can apply the lessons from the literature on principled negotiation in order to engage in regional community building, and (2) that changing the structure of local government law can dramatically improve the prospects of meaningful municipal interaction. James A. Kushner, Planning for Downsizing: A Comparison of the Economic Revitalization Initiatives in American Communities Facing Military Base Closure with the German Experience of Relocating the National Capital from Bonn to Berlin, 33 Urb. Law. 119 (Winter 2001). This article examines three towns that experienced an American military base closing and focuses on their efforts to revitalize the local economies. These experiences are compared with efforts to stabilize the economy in Bonn, Germany. Following German Reunification, the national capital was relocated from Bonn to Berlin, generating a prospective direct local loss of 20,000 federal jobs to agencies moving to Berlin. The German experience offers an interesting contrast to the economic revitalization planning process employed in the United States. Together, the various relocation stories offer some lessons for other communities attempting to address a closure as well as suggestions for statutory reform. Eric A. Cesnik, 2000 R. Marlin Smith Student Writing Competition Award Winner—The American Street, 33 Urb. Law. 147 (Winter 2001). This article’s starting point is the street as physical space and argues that the street is a public space available for more than mere travel. First, it suggests what our streets could look like and why that vision would be more desirable than the status quo. The article then focuses on the government’s role in shaping the street, emphasizing the role of the federal government, both historically and through current federal transportation policy. It concludes with a discussion of how our institutions might be reshaped to allow a more participatory and democratic approach to the American street in the future—an approach that might make an alternative to the automobile dominated street a real possibility. With a Book Reviews on As Long as They Don’t Move Next Door: Segregation and Racial Conflict in American Neighborhoods Reviewed by Jonathan L. Entin Crossing the Class and Color Lines: From Public Housing to White Suburbia Reviewed by Kristen L. Aggeler Respecting State Courts: The Inevitability of Judicial Federalism Reviewed by Sarah R. Sandberg Cases, Statutes, Recent Developments on Drye v. United States, 528 U.S. 49 (1999). And a Book of Note on When Law Goes Pop: The Vanishing Line Between Law and Popular Culture |
