Eminent domain
The most common uses of property taken under eminent domain were for roads, government buildings and public utilities. In the mid-20th century, a new application for eminent domain was pioneered, under which the government could take the property and transfer it under a private third party. This was initially only done to properties that were deemed "blighted" or called a "development impediment", on the principles that such properties had negative impacts against the owners of surrounding properties.