A city is threatening to use its eminent domain powers for GOOD instead of evil

In Peoria, the city has recently used its eminent domain powers to throw people in the streets and seize their homes so developers could build baseball parks and strip malls (all of which are failing now, by the way). Some city's are threatening to use eminent domain so KEEP people in their homes:

Richmond (Calif.), a city of about 100,000 people (where the  largest employer is a local Chevron refinery that  made national headlines last year for a massive fire leading thousands of residents to sue for damages) is contemplating using an unlikely tool to rescue homeowners and help keep them in their homes: the power of eminent domain.

The city has become ground zero in a standoff between housing advocates and big banks, which argue that the unprecedented scheme could unsettle the market for complex mortgage-backed securities.

If the plan succeeds, it could set off a chain reaction among cities big and small. And it could transform eminent domain—a power that has long been used to displace residents, often in communities of color—into a tool to help stabilize neighborhoods.

Here's what has happened so far: In July, city officials sent letters to 32 mortgage companies offering to purchase more than 600 underwater mortgages for about 80 percent of their market value. (80 percent, the plan's proponents say, because some loans are at risk of default, though banks have countered that the markdown is merely a moneymaking scheme since the principal amounts will be adjusted to their full market value). Once the city obtains the loans, it will help homeowners refinance at more affordable rates. If the banks refuse to sell, Richmond is threatening to use eminent domain to seize the mortgages.