Summary

In your investigations into environmental racism, disparities in toxic sites and tree cover, the issue of classism and owning property come into play. Redlining has been a historical theme in property allocation. It is the act of using maps made by the Home Owners Loan Association to distribute loans. 

This is a map that puts together documents from the Home Owner Loan Association from 1935-1940. The HOLC assessed neighborhoods and households on the basis of value. There were four categories.  A:“Best”, B:“Still Desirable”, C:“Definitely Declining”, and D:“Hazardous”(Robert et. al). These decisions were made from the perspective of a racist, rich homeowner. Objectively. Value was determined to be lower when in a neighborhood with more “negro” and “working class” people(Robert et. al). Why did the zones matter? They determined who should receive loans. “Hazardous” refers to what it is to give people in these zones loans. By hovering over the grade column of the map key, you can see the descriptions of each zone. 

The decision making process of neighborhood grade was explicitly racist. The guide for HOLC agents describes the “infiltration of foreign-born, Negro, or lower-grade population” as possible reasons to assign a lower grade to a neighborhood. Homes with Black residents decreased property value on the basis that a White person would be less likely to buy houses near them. Homes of working class residents decreased property values around them on the basis that wealthy people would not value those properties. It was a matter of perspective. Wealthy White people sought to move next to wealthy White people. The inability to get loans makes moving out of a D zone to a C or B zone almost impossible. Not only that, many policies and companies treat properties in C & D zones as less important. For example, a highway is more likely to cut through a D zone than an A zone. This creates ecological differences between each neighborhood type and further decreases property values in C & D zones. 

Being able to identify which neighborhoods suffered from redlining is important when investigating contamination in a specific area.