Climate Safe Neighborhoods

As part of the Climate Safe Neighborhoods (CSN) partnership, Groundwork Milwaukee is working with residents and stakeholders to explore the relationship between the city’s history of housing segregation and the current and predicted impacts of the climate crisis.

Historical redlining maps and modern satellite imagery reveal a relationship between federal race-based housing segregation and vulnerability to extreme heat and flooding in Milwaukee today. To address this relationship, Groundwork Milwaukee is working closely with residents and stakeholders to build their capacity to self-advocate for climate adaptation measures.

Scroll down for a guided tour of our analysis, focus communities, and efforts to make Milwaukee’s neighborhoods safer from extreme heat and flooding.

Neighborhoods in Milwaukee will not experience the impacts of climate change equally. Communities with fewer trees and green spaces are more vulnerable to heat and flooding, and those communities, nationwide, tend to be places where low-income residents and people of color live. It is no coincidence that these neighborhoods lack the green open spaces that mitigate heat and flooding. It’s the result of a long history of federal-instituted segregation.  

In 1933, the federal government established the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) as part of a New Deal program to stabilize and encourage homeownership during and after the Great Depression through the introduction of long-term federally backed mortgages.

The HOLC provided guidance to private lenders on which neighborhoods were considered “safe” or “risky” for receiving loans. To develop this guidance, the federal government hired private surveying companies to develop “residential security maps” like the one below.

In addition to the quality of housing stock, race and ethnicity were the primary qualifiers of that risk. The “safest,” or greenlined, neighborhoods were graded A and contained high quality homes and “white” residents. The “riskiest,” or redlined, neighborhoods were graded D and contained poorer quality homes and African American, Eastern European and Southern Italian immigrants.

Residents in redlined areas could not receive loans to purchase homes in those neighborhoods. They were also prevented from buying homes in greenlined areas by realtors, lenders, and residents fearful of plummeting housing values. Neighborhoods of color saw property values drop or stagnate, and city-led improvements to infrastructure stalled. Today, nearly 75% of the neighborhoods graded as high-risk under the HOLC are low-to-moderate income, and 64% are neighborhoods of color.[ 1 ]

How do the housing segregation practices of the past connect to the built environment of today? The bar graph below explores the relationship between modern tree canopy cover, impervious pavement, mean land surface temperature, and HOLC neighborhood grade for urban areas with redlining maps participating in the CSN partnership.

Moving from grade A to grade D, tree canopy cover (green) decreases, impervious pavement (grey) increases, and mean surface temperature (red) increases. While this graph does not directly address flooding, we do know that high amounts of pavement in a neighborhood increase the local risk of flooding.

The data suggests that there is a relationship between historical practices of redlining, community infrastructure, and exposure to heat and flood risk. Our neighborhoods do not look the way they do by accident, and we will not reduce disparities in exposure to heat and flooding by accident.

The following maps explore the relationship between federally endorsed HOLC neighborhood grades and three environmental factors associated with climate risk: tree canopy cover, impervious surfaces, and land surface temperature.

The graph below explores the relationship between tree canopy cover, impervious surface, mean surface temperature, and HOLC neighborhood grade in Milwaukee. Moving from grade A to grade D, tree canopy cover (green) decreases, impervious surface (grey) increases, and mean land surface temperature (red) increases. While this graph does not directly address flooding, we do know that high percentages of impermeable pavement in a neighborhood increase the local risk of flooding.

The data suggests there is a relationship between historical practices of redlining, development of public infrastructure, and exposure to heat and flood risk in Milwaukee.

But what do we know about residents’ ability to deal with or bounce back from the impacts of climate change?

Metcalfe Park is a neighborhood on Milwaukee’s northwest side and is home to about 2,700 residents. A predominantly Black community, the neighborhood is a hub of socially impactful and innovative small businesses, neighborhood-centered enrichment organizations, celebrated culture and history, revitalized green spaces, and strong neighbor-to-neighbor relationships. The residents of Metcalfe Park are committed to their collective home.

Born and raised in Milwaukee, Deja Garner (she/they) has seen firsthand how segregation, redlining, economic disparity, and inequity impact communities. Deja currently serves as the Community Programs Director at Groundwork Milwaukee. Her primary responsibility is to work alongside the community to facilitate our Climate Safe Neighborhoods initiative. Deeply driven by a love of community, Deja is committed to ensuring that future generations have safe, healthy, and thriving neighborhoods that they can call home. 

Prior to her work with Groundwork Milwaukee, Deja served as the Program Director at a nonprofit where she led the organization’s racial equity, youth, and independent research programs. As part of this work, she was tasked with leading a multi-year project that drew a connection between the built environment, as a social determinant of health, and community safety. This led to her passion for neighborhood revitalization and climate change resilience.

Deja also brings years of experience as an educator and youth mentor, which has continued to drive the work she does today. When she is not working, she enjoys book collecting and strengthening her mindfulness practices.

Tackling climate change in a way that benefits everyone has to be a community-led effort. Join the movement to become part of the solution! Email Deja (deja@groundworkmke.org) today to learn more about how you can get involved.