and their Relationship to Racial Demographics
5/5/23
Created by the editors of FiveThirtyEight, an opinion poll analysis site.
The data uses modern 2020 Census data and aligns it with redlining maps and HOLC grades created by the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation from 1935 to 1940, provided by the Mapping Inequality Project.
Each of the 551 rows represents one case that has a given metropolitan area and an assigned HOLC grade, and the rows each contain data about the population that occupies that HOLC-graded metropolitan area.
The percentage of people who receive each HOLC grade changes depending on the racial group.
There is a clear relationship between the racial makeup of an area and the HOLC grade that it receives.
White areas often receive high grades while areas that are predominantly POC receive lower grades.
The HOLC grading system reinforces racial segregation and inequality, leading to ongoing systemic inequality in housing.
Further work could include investigating the impact of redlining on education for POC in areas with low grades.
Additional studies could include analyzing how health services differ in areas of low grades compared to areas of higher grade.