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Abstract

The city of Yonkers violated the Constitution by locating schools and public housing in ways that were prosegregative. Did the city's plan ners act unethically, using the Davi doff-Krumholz categorical imperative of redistribution as the ethical stan dard ? Possibly yes, but I argue that the imperative is an irrelevant stan dard for a city's planners and con clude that Yonkers' planners acted ethically. The imperative is valuable as a personal moral reference point and is appropriate for judging the actions of elected and appointed of ficials. It is inappropriate, however, as a standard for evaluating public servants. Yonkers' planners provided best practice advice to political deci sion makers. They were ignored.

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References

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Yonkers' Planners Acted Ethically: Its Citizens and Politicians Acted Illegally

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