Ain't No Sunshine: Examining Informality and State Open Meeting Acts as the Anti-Public Norm in Inner-City Redevelopment Deal Making

47 Pages Posted: 28 Nov 2007 Last revised: 15 Jul 2013

See all articles by Patience A. Crowder

Patience A. Crowder

University of Denver Sturm College of Law

Abstract

The literature about redevelopment and the displacement of inner-city residents is plentiful. What has been missing from legal scholarship's discourse about displaced communities, however, is a meaningful focus on the role and impact of the public-private relationship in inner-city redevelopment. This article examines the deal making process of inner-city redevelopment projects and its deficient mechanisms for community participation. It particularly critiques the structure and scope of open meetings acts as these acts apply to redevelopment projects sponsored by cities partnering with quasi-public developers. This article argues that an anti-public norm dominates inner-city redevelopment deal making and that, as a result, open meetings acts fail particularly in the context of inner-city redevelopment due to the informality of deal making. To counteract this norm, the article advocates for increased formality in inner-city redevelopment through revisions to state open meeting laws and the implementation of formal mechanisms of community participation by local government.

Keywords: inner-city, redevelopment, Open Meeting Act

Suggested Citation

Crowder, Patience A., Ain't No Sunshine: Examining Informality and State Open Meeting Acts as the Anti-Public Norm in Inner-City Redevelopment Deal Making. University of Tulsa Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2008-01, Tennessee Law Review, Vol. 74, No. 4, 2007, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1031727

Patience A. Crowder (Contact Author)

University of Denver Sturm College of Law ( email )

2255 E. Evans Avenue
Denver, CO 80208
United States

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