Washington University Journal of Law & Policy Volume 36 Restorative Justice 2011 Protecting Low Income Residents During Tax Increment Financing Redevelopment Kristen Erickson Washington University School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_journal_law_policy Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Kristen Erickson, Protecting Low Income Residents During Tax Increment Financing Redevelopment, 36 WASH. U. J. L. & POL’Y 203 (2011), https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_journal_law_policy/vol36/iss1/9 This Note is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington University Journal of Law & Policy by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Protecting Low Income Residents During Tax Increment Financing Redevelopment Kristen Erickson INTRODUCTION In 1997, tax increment financing (TIF) was used to fund the addition of a high-end department store to a suburban mall located in a wealthy outer suburb of St. Louis, Missouri.1 Over a decade later, another TIF project is in the works in the blighted, burned out, and mostly abandoned north St. Louis city, seeking to bring development, as well as vibrancy and affluence, back to that neighborhood.2 These two projects are examples of the uses to which tax increment financing, generally designed for redevelopment of blighted inner cities,3 has been put. Both projects also showcase potential problems associated with their use. On the one hand, TIF has been used rather effectively in wealthier communities to fund large commercial retail development.