Day 11: Redlining
Definition: Redlining is a discriminatory practice that puts services (financial and otherwise) out of reach for residents of certain areas based on race or ethnicity. It can be seen in the systematic denial of mortgages, insurance, loans, and other financial services based on location (and that area’s default history) rather than on an individual’s qualifications and creditworthiness. Notably, the policy of redlining is felt the most by residents of minority neighborhoods.
CHALLENGES
OPTION 1: Read this article about Redlining and its effects over decades.
OPTION 2: Read this article about how freeways created community displacement in Los Angeles.
OPTION 3: Read this article about the history of redlining, restrictive covenants, and other housing discrimination in San Mateo, Hillsdale, and other Peninsula communities, written by Richard Rothstein, author of Color of the Law.
OTHER RESOURCES
Take a look at Bay Area discrimination in this UC Berkeley report. Click on image to download report. Page 7 and page 50 share some county specific information.
Go deeper into Redlining in America and Read the Color of Law by Richard Rothstein. The first chapter begins with San Francisco.
The Disturbing History of the Suburbs, An Adam Ruins Everything episode that quickly and humorously educates how redlining came to be. (6 minutes)
Watching "Why Cities Are Still So Segregated" from Let's Talk NPR (6mins36s, advisory of explicit adult language)
Read this UC Berkeley report: Rising Housing Costs and Re-Segregation in the San Francisco Bay Area. Key findings/summary are on pages 3 and 4