Redlining

There are a variety of environmental and socioeconomic failures happening currently and in the history of our world. Some prevalent failures in the western world include the oppression of minorities and low income people in the United States of America (McDonald, et al., 2007). A significant cause of the perpetual poverty status and further inequality of these groups is inflicted by the idea of redlining and the discriminatory credit loaning practices that accompanied it (Appel, & Nickerson, 2016).  Redlining is essentially residential segregation that was happening amongst mortgage and lending companies during the 1930s-1960s in the United States of America. Colour coded maps (fig 1.) were created to assess the risk of investment into certain neighbourhoods, these maps outlined low income, minority areas in red suggesting extreme risk of investment hence the name ‘redlining’ (Hillier, 2003, Ezeala-Harrison, et al., 2008,). The backlash is that the people still living in these previously redlined areas are more exposed to environmental related health hazards and persistent environmental degradation, and lack of access to a fulfilling amount of outdoor space

Various political, environmental, and health related impacts originating from redlining are prevalent throughout many large American cities to this day. There are a variety of factors that lead up to the practice of redlining that began in the Franklin D Roosevelt presidency during the 1930s. Various political, environmental, and health related impacts originating from redlining are prevalent throughout many large American cities to this day. With a platform of change, many government funded organizations have their roots during the Great Depression. As Franklin D Roosevelt campaigned throughout the early 1930s he began to lift the spirits of the public with a promise of getting the American people out of the financial crisis (fig. 2.). Some of the key establishments that were funded by the FDR presidency were the New Deal, Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC). The New Deal focused on three main things; relief for the unemployed, recovery of the economy through job creation and government spending ,and reform to capitalism through legislation and social welfare programs (Cronin, & Hoochman, 1985). These reforms were put in place through national social programs like social insurance, public assistance, and a variety of others that focused on industry and agriculture. The Federal Housing Administration was established to encourage trading and currency exchange. With a focus on saving the home building and finance industries that collapsed during the great depression, the FHA lowered home down payments from 30% to 10%, which eventually led to suburbanization after world war two that is still prevalent to this day (Gotham, et al, 2000). The Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) was established in 1933 and their purpose was to refinance mortgages to prevent foreclosures during the economic crisis. During this time foreclosures had skyrocketed, and could have destroyed the housing industry beyond repair. The HOLC would lend money out to homeowners at a monthly payback rate, that would aid those struggling to make their regular payments. At the end  of the refinancing services in 1936, the corporation had lent out $3,093,451,321 to 1,018,171 struggling homeowners (Hillier, 2003).

In theory all of these establishments seem as though they would benefit a population in financial trouble. However there is a dark side to all of these agencies that did not come to light until later. All of these programs in reality have made life to this day harder for the people of colour across America. The Home Owners Association is particularly guilty of this claim due to their grading system that was widely used for many years. This grading system is a four tier graded system that highlights investment risk. Letters ‘A’ to ‘D’ and a corresponding colour would display the investment risk for each neighbourhoods. ‘A’ coloured green is best, ‘B’ coloured blue means still desirable, ‘C’ in yellow means definitely declining, and ‘D’ in red is hazardous. These graded maps that were created by the HOLC show a correlation between how mortgage lending companies handout funding (Ezeala-Harrison, et al, 2008, Hillier, 2003)). The districts deemed to be hazardous or letter ‘D’ get less assistance. These lending practices known as redlining are a way to segregate certain communities through governmental practices (Wingling, et al, 2021). Many of these maps specifically targeted areas with high African American populations, thus allowing for governmental discrimination. Many minority groups were denied mortgages through the years because of these graded maps, as the people in power perceived them to be a mortgage risk, and lower property values over time. Redlining practices started the racial housing inequality that is still prevalent to this day. In 1968, with the establishment of the Fair Housing Act, the discriminatory practices were banned (fig.2.). Being a part of the Civil Rights Act discrimination based on race, religion, national origin and sex were no longer legal. However, it was too late and these regions will experience environmental and social inequalities that will still be prevalent for the years to come (Appel, & Nickerson, 2016). To this day the rate of poverty, especially amongst African American populations throughout Detroit, Mi is shown to be higher within previously redlined areas far more than those in the other graded districts (fig. 3)

The video (fig. 4) will explain redlining and the history behind it in a concise way.

 In Detroit, Michigan a major environmental impact is the lack of greenspace. The inner city wherein these redlined neighbourhoods are found often lack greenspace, due to lack of funding, space, and governmental intervention and focus. More greenspace can lead to improved stormwater abatement, air quality, landscape connectivity, public health, and urban heat (Meerow, & Newell, 2017). Green areas in heavily populated cities can reduce urban heat by creating a cooling effect and increasing fresh, and clean air. Green spaces in cities, even 0.24 ha of greenspaces can contribute to a cooling of the area by up to 6 degrees C compared to non green spaces (Oliveira, et al., 2011). In Detroit, the areas that belong to previously redlined regions are gathered in the inner city areas, which would have the highest urban temperature due to the amount of traffic and populations, and also have a significant amount less greenspace (fig. 5)

Detroit is unique, as it is a post-industrial city with high rates of vacant housing, and aging infrastructure (fig.6). These areas are a possible location to include the greenspace that is lacking from the inner city. Detroit is the largest legacy city in the United States, meaning the population has decreased 20% of the peak population, but maintaining over 50 000 residents, losing more than half of its population between 1950 and 2010, meaning there are many abandoned lots in the city that if used effectively can have a net positive effect on many of the residents (Nassauer, & Raskin, 2014). These lots can be redeveloped into greenspaces that can be used by those living in neighbourhoods with significant amount of these lots present. Redevelopment of these spaces can mitigate urban heat, and air quality issues presented by vehicle traffic and industry.

This video (fig. 7) briefly explains why greenspaces are essential to the health of people in urban areas.

While many environmental concerns that were caused by redlining are prevalent through temperature, common floods, and heat, there are also environmental related health and safety concerns that affect these groups again. Historically, the districts that have been redlined have many more pollutants, and environmental hazards that affect the health of residents negatively (Shkembi, et al, 2022). In Detroit, Michigan there are many prevalent health risks that are observed in many previously redlined areas. The most common threats in redlined districts within Detroit are RMP sites, hazardous road noise, diesel PM, and air toxins cancer risk (Krieger, et al, 2020). There are higher risks of the people in redlined neighbourhoods developing exposure based illnesses and diseases. The industrial areas that are considered to be point sources are located mainly around the areas that are considered undesirable by HOLC standards (fig. 7). People in this area are also prone to have no health insurance, so in the case of illness, they will have to pay out pocket. These areas are more likely to be impoverished, or be working class making the access to large amounts of spending, even on health care very difficult.

 A study that reveals the links between socioeconomic status and health of residents in previously redlined areas using the determinants of health index (DOHI). They compared a map of detroit showing the previous HOLC graded map and compared it to a map of the same area and the sum of the population's health using the determinants of health index found by the Detroit's Urban HEART foundation (fig. 8). The study found that lower scores for population health coincides with the poorer grades on the HOLC maps (Mehdipanah, et al., 2023). This proves that the structural racism and low effort that was put onto these communities for many years has led to poorer conditions that are still being recorded to this day. These areas are not being taken care of, and brought up the way that newer subdivisions and areas that the HOLC graded as ‘best’ and ‘still desirable’ have been over the years. Understanding that there is a lower health status in these areas overall is important to understanding how these environments lead to increased illnesses. The population living in the redlined districts have had to deal with many systemic issues, this is an example of those issues. The people have had to deal with many point source polluting industries in their areas, and have less opportunities to access health care, even if they are more prone to illness caused by these hazards.

Redlining was created to discriminate certain groups out of financial help, and governmental intervention into the types of housing and neighbourhoods that certain groups can live in. This discrimination, although legally banned, is still causing modern environmental and socioeconomic to impact the lives of the same groups to this day. People in redlined districts have disproportionate rates of poverty, high rates of urban heat and lack of greenspace increasing the severity of the issue, and industry and road pollution with low rates of health insurance making every individuals health more at risk due to available housing.

Text References

Appel, I., & Nickerson, J.,  (2016). Pockets of poverty: The long-term effects of redlining. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2852856 

Cronin, T. E., & Hoochman, W. R. (1985). Franklin D. Roosevelt and The American Presidency. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 15(2), 277–286. https://doi.org/https://www.jstor.org/stable/27550206 

Draus, P., Haase, D., Napieralski, J., Sparks, A., Qureshi, S., & Roddy, J. (2020). Wastelands, greenways and gentrification: Introducing a comparative framework with a focus on Detroit, USA. Sustainability, 12(15), 6189. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12156189 

Ezeala-Harrison, F., Glover, G. B., & Shaw-Jackson, J. (2008). Housing loan patterns toward minority borrowers in Mississippi: Analysis of some micro data evidence of redlining. The Review of Black Political Economy, 35(1), 43–54.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12114-008-9020-4 

Gotham, K. F. (2000). Racialization and the State: The housing act of 1934 and the creation of the Federal Housing Administration. Sociological Perspectives, 43(2), 291–317. https://doi.org/10.2307/1389798  

Hillier, A. E. (2003). Redlining and the Home Owners' Loan Corporation. Journal of Urban History, 29(4), 394–420. https://doi.org/10.1177/0096144203029004002 

Krieger, N., Wright, E., Chen, J. T., Waterman, P. D., Huntley, E. R., & Arcaya, M. (2020). Cancer stage at diagnosis, historical redlining, and current neighborhood characteristics: Breast, cervical, lung, and colorectal cancers, Massachusetts, 2001–2015. American Journal of Epidemiology, 189(10), 1065–1075. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwaa045  

McDonald, K. E., Keys, C. B., & Balcazar, F. E. (2007). Disability, race/ethnicity and gender: Themes of cultural oppression, acts of individual resistance. American Journal of Community Psychology, 39(1-2), 145–161. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-007-9094-3 

Meerow, S., & Newell, J. P. (2017). Spatial planning for Multifunctional Green Infrastructure: Growing Resilience in Detroit. Landscape and Urban Planning, 159, 62–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2016.10.005 

Mehdipanah, R., McVay, K. R., & Schulz, A. J. (2023). Historic redlining practices and contemporary determinants of health in the Detroit Metropolitan Area. American Journal of Public Health, 113(S1), 49–57. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2022.307162 

Nassauer, J. I., & Raskin, J. (2014). Urban vacancy and Land Use Legacies: A Frontier for Urban Ecological Research, design, and planning. Landscape and Urban Planning, 125, 245–253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2013.10.008 

Oliveira, S., Andrade, H., & Vaz, T. (2011). The cooling effect of green spaces as a contribution to the mitigation of urban heat: A case study in Lisbon. Building and Environment, 46(11), 2186–2194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2011.04.034

Shkembi, A., Smith, L. M., & Neitzel, R. L. (2022). Linking environmental injustices in Detroit, MI to institutional racial segregation through historical federal redlining. Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-022-00512-y  

Winling, L. D. C., & Michney, T. M. (2021). The roots of redlining: Academic, governmental, and professional networks in the making of the new deal lending regime. Journal of American History, 108(1), 42–69. https://doi.org/10.1093/jahist/jaab066 

Audio Visual Sources

Ben Explains (2020, September 28). What is Redlining? Redlining Explained, A Brief History,  https://youtu.be/w6qvYow9uAY 

Coleman, T. (2019, May 30). Detroit divided: Myth, reality, or a bit of both? The Michigan Chronicle. https://michiganchronicle.com/2019/05/30/detroit-divided-myth-reality-or-a-bit-of-both/

Florida Department of Health (2017, December 28) Green Spaces,  https://youtu.be/qIqJTh-ouS4 

Johnson, O., & Aronowitz, M. (2019, September 23). HUD proposal would gut purpose of Fair Housing Act and further destabilize local neighborhoods. Milwaukee Independent. https://www.milwaukeeindependent.com/syndicated/hud-proposal-would-gut-purpose-of-fair-housing-act-and-further-destabilize-local-neighborhoods/

Sophia Publishing, (2023). The origins of Brown v Board: Housing Policy and segregation. Sophia. https://app.sophia.org/tutorials/the-origins-of-brown-v-board-housing-policy-and-segregation

Timetoast. (2014, December). A brief history of the United States Supreme Court timeline. Timetoast timelines. https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/supreme-court-07529900-098f-41f2-98f7-d49622864298

Yetman, E., (2023a), Map 3/3 Heat Severity and Park Locations in Detroit, Michigan, https://arcg.is/0fqWf0

Yetman, E., (2023b), Map 2/3 Pollution Sources and Health Insurance in Detroit, Michigan,  https://arcg.is/0rvif5 

Yetman, E., (2023c), Map 1/3 Relationship Between African American Population and Poverty in Detroit, Michigan,  https://arcg.is/0iumbL