Flexibility and Contextualization in Defining Land Acquisition Policies and Strategies for Gentrification

One of the basic and fundamental elements of the gentrification process is land acquisition for the urban renewal process. At the begining, lands were obtained through a compulsory process called “Eminent Domain”. This paper is the result of detailed research about land acquisition trend in three dimension: (1) Eminent Domain and Compensation; (2) Eminent Domain and the determination of “Public Purpose” concept; (3) Eminent Domain and the responsible organization. Analysis of the trend shows that with the passage of time and in an evolving trend, two concepts have been applied in relation with the three above dimensions: (1) Flexibility and (2) Contextualization: The social, economical, and environmental condition of where gentrification occurs. In relation with compulsory land acquisition is toward substituting the compulsory process with incentive-based policies.