The Legal De nition of “Blight” in Urban Renewal of the USA and Its Enlightenment
Abstract：
The legal premise of the demolition and reconstruction of urban renewal is the “public interest”, but it is not easy to judge whether it is in line with the “public interest”. Urban renewal in the United States has a long history. In practice, the legislature changed the judgment of “public interest” to the definition of whether the expropriated area is “blight”, while the judicial organs gradually reduced the intensity of judicial review. “Kelo v. City of New London” has sparked the abuse of “blight” in urban renewal of the United States, following different state legislative and judicial responses. China’s land system and expropriation system are different from the United States, but we can still be learned from the American experiences. Specifically, the legislative definition of the “public interest” should be subdivided into the “physical judgment factors” and “economic judgment factors”, and they should be refined and clear, and the judicial review of the “public interest” should start with a review of “transferee” to identify whether it belongs to the “pretextual takings”.