Title: HOLC “redlining” maps: The persistent structure of segregation and economic inequality » NCRC
Headings: HOLC “redlining” maps: The persistent structure of segregation and economic inequality
HOLC “redlining” maps: The persistent structure of segregation and economic inequality
Executive Summary
The economic and racial segregation created by “redlining” persists in many cities
Persistent economic inequality
Persistent residential segregation
INTRODUCTION

Content: Another determinant of credit access is the risk associated with lending, which can be mitigated by the value of the collateral. Home mortgage lending credit access is subject to all of these factors, with the property collateralizing the loan. As a consequence, it has a neighborhood-level spatial structure, presenting a geography which can be examined in maps of cities across the country. Redlining––the practice of denying borrowers access to credit based on the location of properties in minority or economically disadvantaged neighborhoods––was widely practiced across the U.S., even in places not commonly associated with “Jim Crow” segregation laws (Rothstein 2017). While overt redlining is illegal today, having been prohibited under the Fair Housing Act of 1968, its enduring effect is still evident in the structure of U.S. cities. Part of the evidence of this enduring structure can be seen in the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) maps created 80 years ago, and the neighborhood economic and racial/ethnic composition today. The maps were created by the HOLC as part of its City Survey Program in the late 1930s. The HOLC deployed examiners across the country to classify neighborhoods by their perceived level of lending risk. All cities in the study with regional divisions. HOLC examiners consulted with local bank loan officers, city officials, appraisers, and realtors to create “Residential Security” maps of cities.