Securing Segregation: Redlining, Physical Barriers, and the Persistence of Segregation

Elizabeth Roberto, Rice University
Jaleh Jalili, Rice University

The residential security maps distributed by the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) during the 1930s and 1940s institutionalized the practice of redlining. Areas with Black residents, older housing, or poorer residents were outlined and colored red in the maps, indicating that mortgage lending should be considered a "hazardous" investment in those areas. This paper analyses the extent to which the built environment affected the assignment of grades in the HOLC maps and how it may have contributed to the persistence of racial residential segregation. The built environment is an important consideration in understanding segregation because two residential areas may be spatially proximate but not well connected (Neal 2012), and connectivity may be more important than mere proximity in predicting racial segregation patterns (Grannis 1998). We study 20 cities appraised by HOLC and examine the spatial proximity of differently graded areas and analyze references to the built environment in the HOLC area reports. We investigate whether "desirable" areas were graded lower if they were near "undesirable" areas without a barrier between them, and we connect historical patterns of racial segregation to present day patterns. We argue that physical barriers -- such as fences, walls, and waterways -- facilitate segregation and contribute to its persistence.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 177. Geographies of Segregation and Inequality II