#Redlined: A St. Louis Story

St. Louis, Missouri has been known as one of the most uniquely designed cities in the United States because of its more distinctive division of wards, territories, and counties. Popular case examples include the "Delmar Divide" or the design of multiple municipals within minutes apart from another.

Throughout this brief case study, St. Louis City will be highlighted regarding its historical redlining that was created in the early 1920's, leading into America's New Deal. The term "Redlining" is defined in simple terms as policy that further segregates minority groups through government-issued zoning and programs.

The first introduction of redlining in the city of St. Louis may be found in this historical city initiative petition, found in Colin Gordon's book, "Mapping Decline - St. Louis and the Fate of the American City".

This partial excerpt created in 1915 was written to the Board of Election Commissioners petitioning White and "Colored" citizens to live separately. In Section 1 and Section 2, the petition describes the strict requirements that would be upheld in a new St. Louis ordinance, mandating specific "blocks" be created. Section 3 defined the word "block". Later sections of the petition have been omitted, but included penalties that will be carried out if ordinances are broken by either race group.

While the petition above was framed to "increase peace" by segregating Blacks and Whites, it directly affects the streets and blocks in the heart of St. Louis present day. As this story unfolds below, that Initiative Petition planted its roots into the city of St. Louis., far deeper than imagined.

Although one can quickly notice inequalities that could lead to apparent disproportionate results, please focus attention in the 11th, 21st, 22nd and 25th Districts of the city (located at the bottom-center). Over 75% of the total negro population lived in these "block" groups. However, because of the lining of the Districts, these citizens were never over the threshold of 75% in one district alone. This made it illegal for Negroes to legally own any property in the city. While the 11th District hit 73% of the census, it was not over the ordinance mandate.

Because of this tactical redlining, generational wealth opportunities, educational advancements, and access to resources that would increase the quality of life were absent in these blocked neighborhoods. These neighborhood values are also heavily impacted modern-day in areas of crime and mortality rate, property value, and food access. The remainder of this story map will display modern-day effects of the legislation enacted in the early 19th century.

This map (pictured left) displays the Black and White population distributed through St. Louis City in 2010. The larger circles represent a bigger clusters of population, while smaller circles represent the smaller population groups. All circles represent a block group in the St. Louis City area. A block group is consider the city "block", more popularly know as the "neighborhood". The red circles represent Black population and the yellow circles represent White population. The transparency level of the circles depict how dominant that race group is in the cluster. The more transparent the circle appears, the less dominant it is, although it still it the majority.

The bordered area in the "STL City Population in 2010" map will display the 11th, 21st, 22nd and 25th Districts of the city (from the previous map above) to show where those same redlined neighborhoods from the 1930's are located in the more recent maps. This border will be used for the duration of the story as a reference and will be referred to as the "Redlined Cluster". Please note this as it will be the focal point for each map. (Please expand the map and zoom in to begin seeing more distinct features. A legend and pop-ups are enabled once the map is opened.)

The "STL City Population in 2010" map reveals that majority of North City St. Louis is comprised of Black persons. In fact, almost every block in bordered area is occupied by Black people. It is also important to note that majority of the White population is clustered in one area at the southwest area of the St. Louis map. There is also a heavy presence of White population in the downtown areas.

There is no question that there is a direct, positive correlation between property ownership and wealth. This is often one of the most controversial discussions regarding slavery; some were not able to own. Retuning to the petition discussed above, it was also very difficult to legally own or obtain property because of many factors, including race, finances, and bank relationships. The following maps will give an insight on current homeownership in St. Louis city.

This map (pictured right) displays the percentage of Black owner-occupied housing units in St. Louis. The percentages within the city blocks are displayed using heat maps. The darkest areas represent where at least 50% (half) of the city block is owned and occupied by a Black homeowner. The lightest areas represent where there is little to no Black owner-occupied units, meaning that even if the home is occupied by a Black household, the household does not own the property.

This map (pictured left) displays the percentage of White owner-occupied housing units in St. Louis City. The percentages within the city blocks are displayed using heat maps. The darkest areas represent where at least 50% (half) of the city block is owned and occupied by a White homeowner. The lightest areas represent where there is little to no White owner-occupied units, meaning that even if the home is occupied by a White household, the household does not own the property.

The owner-occupied maps reveal some crucial insights on the bigger picture of where ownership is dominated by race groups. They give very clear visuals of a clear divide of ownership. It is noteworthy to observe the darker areas in the Black Ownership map appearing in the northern areas of the city, with some ownership in the Redlined Cluster. However, there are not many city blocks that are owned by at least 50% of Black householders within that border.

The White Ownership map is most prominent because of its heavier presence of White Ownership in the southwest areas of the city. What is most notable is the lack of representation of White ownership in the Redlined Cluster. It appears as if the zoning (or wards) are perfectly aligned to avoid that area of the city that was once the home of many Black St. Louisans of the early 1900's. In the final map of this project, please focus on the direct correlation of property value, ownership, and how both variables can be some of the most powerful tools behind generational wealth.

This map will display the median home value in the city of St. Louis in 2019. This was the most recent year provided by the city. The bookmark in the center of the map reflects the heart of what would now be District 11 from the previous distribution map. The entire shaded area is the Redlined Cluster. The surrounding areas in any direction of the bookmark were would be the majority of the Negro population from the 1930's census. By expanding the map to display the legend, the lighter areas have the lowest median home value in today's dollars. The redlined block groups from the 1930's census have a direct correlation with the home values seen in 2019. (Please expand the map and/or zoom in (two times) to begin seeing features and interacting with the map.)

After reviewing the 2019 Median Home Value map, it becomes apparent that the most valued homes are in areas were there is a heavier White population. It is also where White owner-occupied householders have property. There is also a direct correlation between Black owner-occupied homes and lower median home values. However, the most interesting observation is within the Redlined Cluster. Here, there is little ownership from either Black or White householders (although Black householders are more present). The cluster envelopes some of the lowest home values, if there are homes on the city blocks at all.

In conclusion, the decision of redlining St. Louis City in the 1930's has left that area deserted and undesirable. With property values so low, would you invest? The officials of St. Louis have some work to do. However, in this most recent decade that has passed, there have been many policies and initiatives to bring the area "back to life". The next question still remains, will the city of St. Louis ever successfully eliminate redlining?