ABSTRACT
Eminent domain, also known as condemnation, is the power of government to take private property for a public use, without the owner's consent, on the payment of just compensation. The term "land banking" is used to describe the program by which land is acquired and held in reserve for the purpose of achieving planning objectives whether or not any particular use is specified at the time of acquisition. The power of eminent domain has been extended to the elimination of areas that are actually slum, the question here is whether this power can be further extended to the condemnation of factories, stores, private dwellings or vacant land which are properly maintained. If the property taken is vacant land or a building that is capable of more than one use, then the value attributed to such property in eminent domain proceedings must be its highest and best use.
