Redlining in San Antonio
Redlining has effected millions throughout the US. Through this exploration you will see how it effects the people living in San Antonio.
In San Antonio, there are a lot of different ways communities are affected by redlining. In this section, I will be talking about how real estate is affected by redlining. The houses farther north are rated 4.5-5 star houses because of the location. On these parts of town it is rated higher because they have better education, nicer places to shop and eat, and grocery stores. In less wealthy areas, such as the west and east side of San Antonio, they are rated way lower. These lower income communities are rated 1-3 star neighborhoods. This affects the lower income areas because they still lack the money from the houses real estate agents sale. They are also for sale way longer than houses on the more resourceful part of San Antonio. This also affects them because it doesn’t give these neighborhoods the opportunity to get better.
Because of redlining, lower income communities are not getting the resources like the wealthier communities are. Things as small as Ubers and Lyfts are not available to these groups. This maps shows how the communities with different incomes determines how many Uber or Lyft drivers drop off at places around the city. You can see the number of Uber and Lyft driver pick ups are higher going more north of San Antonio. However, going more east and west the number of Uber and Lyft pick ups are lower. You can see on the second part of the map the lighter color means the lower amount of Uber or Lyft pick ups. You can also see that the darker green in the map means that there are higher numbers of Uber and Lyft pick ups. These effects these communities because it is one less transportation option for the lower income communities.
Proved by the map, it shows how the mortality rate is way higher in lower income community than the wealthier communities. This is because the poorer communities lack resources like hospitals, clinics, and grocery stores. In my own community I see one grocery store for a whole large community. I’ve also noticed that the communities more up north of San Antonio have bigger grocery stores. Whereas, say the westside of San Antonio have smaller ones. I know this because I work at an HEB grocery store on the westside and it is very small. The HEB I work at is also the only one in the area. The next grocery store is on the other side of town. Up north, they also have other grocery store options like Whole Foods, Central Market, Sprouts and Trader Joe’s.
This is a news report from KSAT 12, a news channel talking about redlining in San Antonio. In the video, they state how San Antonio was studied and discovered to be one the of most economically segregated cities in the country. They interview a woman who was a victim of redlining and now she is selling her belongings to pay rent and support her child. She lives in low-income housing. The west and east sides both have the lowest in health insurance, employment, and education. This happens because most people are just trying to get by with the little they have. They don't have the money or resources to pay for healthcare or have time to get an education because they need things to live first.
The lady being interviewed above my family and I can relate to. I've grown up on the west side of San Antonio and have experienced redlining first hand. When I was younger my family and I moved from house to house to stay closer to family so they could babysit us while my mom was at work. I remember my mom not coming home till almost 4 in the morning because she needed to work to pay rent and other living expenses. As a result, we stayed with my aunt or grandma a lot of the time. However, we shouldn't have had to grow through all of that. Because of being economically left behind, we face those challenges. I go to work and people barely have enough to pay for their groceries.
Redlining was something that wasn’t an accident. It is an intentional form of segregation. On the north side of San Antonio, this area was deemed safer than the west and east side of San Antonio. As a result, the people living there had better things and were able to do more. Up north, they have more resources like better schools, more opportunities, and have a better living environment. However, a lot of people don’t see how it affects the lower-income communities. They see that it exists, but don’t do anything to help the situation. Through this exploration, we see continuity because things haven't changed much now. You still see redlining and the effects of redlining are still happening now. Lower-income communities still face the consequences of how redlining hasn't changed much. I want to shed light on the importance of making San Antonio better for all kinds of people and not just one certain group of people. I hope you could see how redlining really affects a community. I hope you can understand what people go through, not by choice, but because they have to.