Redlining and Legacies by Professor Griffith

Dilworth, Charlotte, NC

ozragreen — 2024-01-04 21:44:12 UTC

According to the HOLC map and report, this neighborhood was considered "one of the most desirable residential areas in Charlotte." It was inhabited by "business" and "professional men," had access to transportation, and the land was even, not hilly. There was "detrimental influences" because it was located next to a neighboring black community but the appraiser noted "Area D-3 (the black neighborhood) will ever expand further southward into Area A-3." This was likely due to segregation laws that existed in 1937.

Roslyn Avenue, Charlotte, NC

ozragreen — 2024-03-10 21:03:30 UTC

This area in West Charlotte was designated yellow, or degraded. It had single family homes as a positive influence but being bordered by a black community led to "detrimental influence" and the yellow designation.

Historic West End, West Trade Street, Charlotte, NC, USA

phillipsa5_1 — 2024-03-11 19:16:38 UTC

In the aftermath of the Civil War during the Reconstruction era, Charlotte's African American population was dispersed throughout the city and its four wards, often residing alongside white residents. Biddleville, situated in the West End, exemplified one of these integrated neighborhoods which gradually declined as segregation took hold across the Southern region in the 1890s. By the 1910s, concentrated and segregated black neighborhoods had emerged. Over time, Charlotte remained marked by this division, with neighborhoods evolving along lines of race and economic status. Affluent white families established themselves in the southeastern region, while lower- and middle-income white communities were found in the northeast and southwest. Meanwhile, African American populations remained concentrated in the northwest.

Charlotte, NC, USA

tierria3 — 2024-03-12 20:15:05 UTC

Tierria McCullough

According to the HOLC map and report charlotte was considered and is still very liked by many. However the declining percentage is 28% & 32% for declining activity. Segregation was highly enforced here in Clt, N.C. & neighborhoods such as Biddleville off of Oaklawn Ave & W. Trade St. are also known as; 1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th ward are considered a D-6 area because there is a high population of African Americans that live in those areas.

Charlotte has a population of 68% native-born white according to the map, 31% African American, & 1% Foreign born white. Although, clt, N.C. has one of the finest HBCU schools in the nation. Due, to the redlining segregation places such as, Myers Park is a A-3 because it is wealthy, white, & suburban, many caucasians sought this area because there were no blacks and they also had deeds that were created so blacks couldn't move in the neighborhood. Due to the start of this in the 1930's much was blocked for black families, by the Federal Housing System, now in the 21st. century neighborhoods have more families of all nationalities. Charlotte has percentages that are up & down but many people still find it to be an attractive city even though there isn't much to do it does serve a purpose for many due to nice weather all year around.

Myers Park, Charlotte, NC

podzics — 2024-03-12 20:17:37 UTC

According to the HOLC's map, Myer's Park was regarded as one of the white suburban neighborhoods with the highest grade, A. Myer's Park was understood to be a wealthy, predominately white community in which business and professional men inhabited. It's construction was uniform and modern. However, Myer's Park was a "strongly restricted" area in which those of color were secluded from inhabiting in order to preserve the image of white supremacy. However, adjoining northwest to the area of Myer's Park, area D4 can be found. Its population is entirely made of Black Americans and more specifically, occupied predominately by domestics and laborers. Furthermore, its area involves the presences of schools, churches, as well as the community business center. The population of D4 proves to stay constant in place of increasing as Black Americans have no access or entry to inhabit Myer's Park.

Loma Portal, San Diego, CA

podzics — 2024-03-12 20:36:11 UTC

Loma Portal is a highly regarded area (Grade A) and proves to be one of the fastest growing cities in the area. Continuously, this area was prideful in being "100% white" and with the involvement of race and building restrictions, Loma Portal remained to be inhabited by white professional men, naval officers, writers, and artists. With the lack of any inharmonious influences, this area demonstrates to be a high class district. On the other hand, area D7, known as East San Diego consists of poor established homes, lower salaries, and a lack of conformity in its architectural design. Within this area, many Mexicans are dispersed. The number of Mexicans that lived within this area had played a role in the neighborhood grade that was provided.

Brooklyn, NY 11213, USA

tierria3 — 2024-03-12 20:44:38 UTC

Tierria McCullough

Brooklyn has a population of 2,698,285 people that resides there. It also has 67% Native Born White, 28% Foreign Born White, & 4% African American according to the HOLC map. The information also says it is a D-8, many people will rent and buy properties at a fair housing rate. Unbeknownst to me, Brooklyn was populated by Canarsie Indians. In 1663 the Dutch arrived and split Brooklyn into 6 towns.

In the 1800's there was much slavery that took place in Brooklyn for labor causes. The Brooklyn bridge was established in 1883 and from there Brooklyn became a suburb. During the 1920s, the Flatbush, East Flatbush, and surrounding sections of Brooklyn became the destination of choice for white ethnic immigrants such as Jews, Italians, and Irish.

Because of the large number of foreign-born working-class white people living in Brooklyn, most of Brooklyn was either redlined or listed as "third grade" on the 1938 HOLC map.

Brooklyn is now the home to more than a million people & is sought out by Hollywood elite, realtors, overseas elite, and native families. Brooklyn is one of the 5 boroughs & is highly sought out for entertainment.

Charlotte, NC

cassellb1 — 2024-03-13 16:57:02 UTC

In Charlotte, white suburban neighborhoods received the highest ratings (green) while areas predominantly populated by black Americans usually received much lower ratings, or even the lowest (red). Restrictive covenants were used to exclude residents of color from white neighborhoods, which made them “lower risk” and therefore more desirable. In Charlotte, and especially in Myers Park, nicely planned residential areas which were close to churches, schools, and community business centers with adequate transportation facilities were at the top of the desirability list. It was interesting that most of the detrimental factors for Charlotte included “close proximity to negro areas” as if this was threatening to the safety or quality of the white neighborhoods. Other things that were detrimental included cheap construction and low-quality roads, which shows the high importance of the quality of architecture in Charlotte.

Baltimore, MD

cassellb1 — 2024-03-13 16:57:20 UTC

Baltimore was described by the Map as a “laboratory for the segregation that shaped nationwide redlining practices”. Baltimore was a hub of industrialization and urban African American populations, with most favorability stemming from desirable homes and their proximity to churches, schools, etc. (despite the large population of black Americans). The architecture in Baltimore generally seemed old and rundown, with some higher quality homes being found in green and blue areas. The lowest-rated areas were in bad condition with high populations of black Americans. High levels of traffic and heavy obsolescence within the architecture would also generate lower ratings in certain areas, while old architecture was seen as “charming” in Charlotte. This was an interesting difference that I noticed while studying the map.

Syracuse, NY, USA

benjaminj2_4 — 2024-03-13 20:15:10 UTC

This area is far more segregated than Charlotte. It is 85 percent native-born white, followed by 13 percent foreign born white and just 1 percent African American. On the other hand, Charlotte is 68 percent native born white, followed by 38 percent African American and 1 percent foreign born white. While redlining in Charlotte focused on keeping the black population out of majority white areas, redlining in Syracuse focused on keeping immigrants, black people, and people of indigenous descent out of American white areas. In both cities, the defining quality of redlined areas was majority people of color or immigrant population. Areas that were graded as yellow were done so due to their proximity to majority people of color areas as well as declining quality of the homes in those areas. Blue areas of Syracuse graded lower due to population slowly shifting from native born white to Italian immigrants. Green areas were almost entirely native born white as well as high income. Another interesting find, low income workers lived near railroads in both areas, which resulted in those areas becoming redlined because low income workers were typically people of color or ethnic minorities.

Bronx, NY

mckinnonbestg — 2024-03-14 03:39:59 UTC

According the HOLC map The Bronx was home to majority Russians and Italians with the occasional black people moving into he neighborhoods. it already and a rather poor grade, rated as mostly hazardous and on the decline by many. The areas with poorer ratings tended to have more immigrants and people of color. The Bronx was created in 1898 by adding together the area east of the Bronx river, which was home to a fair off suburbia, and the land west of the Bronx river which was annexed into New York City in 1874. The Bronx soon gained popularity among Italian, German, Jewish, and Irish immigrants who were trying to get away from the oversaturated Manhattan. As there was easy access to industrial jobs and a parkland the Bronx began to boom in popularity. With its growing prominence and diversity more black and Puerto Ricans began to move into the borough, as it was seen as a stepping stone, with better rent prices and more job opportunities. There was a new wave of racial integration as the Bronx consisted of many populations, all living in one neighborhood and coexisting. However the HOLC also gave the Bronx a lower score, because of specific neighborhood with an intense anti-black ideology, oftentimes resulting in a lot of hostility. Other areas with low rating were simply because of the large amount of Black and Puerto Rican tenants, which is the reason why Morrisania was rated as D3. According to the HOLC these rating depended completely on the people living in these neighborhoods. By contrast, the area of Fieldstone is rated A1, as to this day it is full of mansions and home to affluent families. It's also interesting to note how in 1940, out of the 1,394,711 people there, 65% were native white, 33% were foreign born white, and 2% black. This compared to how it is now where the Bronx is known as a mostly black and brown neighborhood, although of course things are changing due to things like gentrification as wealthy white people are pushing them out of their homes.

Brooklyn, Charlotte, NC

mckinnonbestg — 2024-03-14 03:53:15 UTC

In Charlotte, Nc Brooklyn was regarded as one the hub for black life in Charlotte. It was home to many black businesses, churches and homeowners. However because of the simple fact that it was a predominantly black neighborhood, in 1937 the HOLC listed it as D3, saying it's "negro influence was detrimental." The neighborhood was essentially listed as hazardous. Areas surrounding it were given higher ratings, but not a perfect A as although there was no possibility of black people entering the neighborhood, the fact that they were so close made it lose points. A stated "the area to the north is occupied by negros but there is hardly any possibility of encroachment into this area, B6." However despite its low rating it's obvious because of how the community thrived, despite who was in it, the HOLC implied it could be improved. Basically they said remove the black people and it could be nicer. Which is exactly what happened. Between 1960 and 1967, the city began to demolish homes and renovate the area, displacing over 1,00 families. Not a single residential unit was made in order to replace it.

Charlotte, NC

jaysonalexander — 2024-03-14 14:21:15 UTC

In the HOLC map Charlotte has a lot of variation in the colors represented. The largest green area is A2. This area is described as an executive area full of business men. The annual income is $3000+. Key features include the golf club, College, and great elementary schools. A2 does not include any relief famlies.

The largest red area is D6. This area is where a large part of the African American influence in charlotte lives. The annual income is $400-$1500. Key features include schools, churches, and an HBCU. D6 also includes many relief families.

Queens, NY

jaysonalexander — 2024-03-14 14:35:31 UTC

In the HOLC map Queens, New York is incredibly interesting. There was no "best" or green areas in the entire city. The largest "still desirable" or blue section is B14. This is an upper class region with little to none African American influence. There is a 24% foreign born population primarily of British-German descent. The annual family income is $4000-$7500.

The largest "hazardous" or red area is D14. This area is described as a labor area. 10% of the population is African American, 39% of the population is foreign born primarily of Polish-Italian descent. The annual family income is $800-$2000.

Chicago, IL

quigleym2_1 — 2024-03-14 18:19:20 UTC

Chicago has a population of almost 3.4 million people. Of those, 8% are african american with the vast majority of others being white foreigners or white natives. After viewing the map, it would appear that as you get closer to the center of the city, the living conditions decrease. The only blue and green areas can be seen outlining the city.

The inner city is mostly red and yellow and is mostly populated by african americans and foreign whites. These areas are often described as low earning laborers with the average family in a red area only making between $1,000-$1,800 annually.

Plaza Midwood, Charlotte, NC 28205, USA

mcnellym — 2024-03-14 19:13:59 UTC

According to the HOLC Map, the area now known as Plaza Midwood was in the Blue category, or "still desirable." It was described as predominantly middle-imcome housing and full of people who "take pride in home ownership." Most occupations in that area were clerical or skilled mechanics. The public transportation was rated adequate, and the area was close to a private golf course which increased the area's desirability.

Detrimental effects on the area include the inconvenient school locations and very close proximity to the coal yard.

The area was rated "none" for 'infiltration', black families and for 'foreign-born' inhabitants. The area is surrounded by another B rated area as well as some C rated, or "definitely declining" areas. The yellow areas have more black families, "relief families", and foreign-born inhabitants, but that those are really the only noticeable distinctions between the yellow and blue areas.

Oakland, CA 94612, USA

mcnellym — 2024-03-14 19:36:41 UTC

According to the HOLC Map, Oakland had a lot of red zones, classified as "Hazardous" and D rated. These areas were primarily on the West side, and fade from red, to yellow, to blue, to green as you look to the Eastern side of Oakland.

The Hazardous zones were predominately inhabited by minority races, and were near industrial facilities. Most people in the red zones were low-wage workers and laborers. Many "relief families" lived in these area as well.

The "Definitely Declining", or yellow zones, had low to middle income inhabitants, and there were a mix of white and minority people living there. Some of the yellow zones had the same classification/statistics as the blue zones, but were marked yellow because of their proximity to red zones.

Housing for white and black families were generally the same in these areas. People primarily worked in or owned shops, as well as clerical work.

The "Still Desirable" or blue zones had few to none non-white inhabitants, and most of the jobs were business jobs. They were middle to high-middle income and were far from the industrial plants.

The "Best" areas, or green zones were fully White neighborhoods made up of high-level businessmen and executives. These people were high-income and very separated from the Hazardous and Definitely Declining zones. The most noticable difference between the blue and green zones is that the average income level was higher in the green zones, and some blue zones were not fully white neighborhoods.

NoDa, Charlotte, NC

maplesj1 — 2024-03-14 22:48:59 UTC

According to the HOLC map, NoDa is one of the lesser desirable areas to live in Charlotte. There is a lot of industrial development occurring in the area; including cotton mills, a railroad on the west side, and other warehouses and industrial plants in the area. There are some favorable influences however. There are many schools in churches in the area, which may appeal to people looking to move to NoDa. Overall, the northern part is the better part. It contains a higher percentage of home ownership, and can be considered "high" red.

Park Hill, Denver, CO

maplesj1 — 2024-03-14 23:02:03 UTC

According to the HOLC map, Denver is one of the best places to live in Colorado. Area A1 is the newest addition to Park Hill, with no detrimental influences. There are many adequate schools, sufficient transportation, and a nearby city park. The most popular occupation in the area seems to be related to business. Interestingly, most of the population is aged between 20 and 25 years old, making it one of the youngest areas in Denver while also being one of the highest graded.

Charlotte, NC, USA

medellinj — 2024-03-15 00:48:55 UTC

In the mid nineteenth century Charlotte began developing with the building of railroads. During this time the city was split into four wards which were the original neighborhoods. In the twentieth century strict segregation began to take place, however many of these neighborhoods had already begun to inhabit several different populations. Biddleville in particular ultimately became an all black community. While Biddleville consisted of several middle class black residents the HOLC still gave them a hazardous rating due to those living there. In the HOLC's description of Biddleville they reference many times the color of those living there emphasizing how important the color of their skin was the the HOLC.

Charlotte, NC, USA

2024-03-15 00:52:19 UTC

Micah Stechmiller: I decided to look at the section D-11 which is a very interesting part of town. Although I did find this section of town to be very interesting, it was also considered hazardous. Most of the population is a cotton mill village, which is an interesting fact. Most of the properties in this part of town were part of the mill. 68% of this part of town is native- born white. The other majority population in this section of town is 31% African American. One more component about this section of town that is interesting is business and industrial.

Chicago, IL, USA

medellinj — 2024-03-15 01:19:16 UTC

Chicago was very significant in the beginning of redlining. Many influential people in the area helped research and develop policy analyses that would latter lead to redlining. Chicago was previously racially segregated , but by implementing redlining it only intensified the segregation. African Americans who resided in Chicago had lived scattered around the city but once redlining was established the African Americans had been grouped to what was later known as the Black Belt.

Pittsburgh, PA

currya12 — 2024-03-15 02:01:35 UTC

Pittsburgh, PA has a population of 671,659 with a primarily white population. With 78% native-born whites and 13% foreign-born whites leaving 9% African American. This is especially interesting due to Pittsburg's long past of racism in the state. It has frequently been called the Mississippi of the North for that reason. Being a Pittsburgh native myself, I have experienced some of the things that the map talks about in its context. I am very familiar with the origins of Pittsburgh, being centered around the three rivers, and I am also familiar with the different neighborhoods throughout including the Hill district. There are many examples of great neighborhoods/schools throughout Pittsburgh, but there are also several examples of poor areas throughout. These areas serve as an example of redlining throughout the city.

Charlotte, NC 28206, USA

kheetahgirl — 2024-03-15 02:32:05 UTC

For the map of Charlotte, most of the north half is labeled as either "Defidently Declining" or "Hazardous'". Some common detriments I saw in the Charlotte area was being near a "negro populated area". The section C5 in Charlotte said a determent was "negro sections on two sides". For C10, it states, "Negro university adjoining section - also box factory. Adjoining section on the north is negro section.". D3 states, "negro section almost entirely." Many detriments are related to the black population in Charlotte. Favorable influences in Charlotte were typically related to the proximity of churches or schools. If it was an area with those things, it was a favorable influence. If not, that would be included in the detriments.

Biddleville, Charlotte, NC

sawyerr6 — 2024-03-15 03:43:15 UTC

As described by the HOLC map, this area consists of "better" negro properties. A negro area nonetheless, it is sill categorized as hazardous because of its population. Although there were better grade properties for the working class negro who held jobs as professors for black colleges, masons, and mechanics, the area still maintained lower grade properties as well. Additionally, there was a cotton oil mill in the area which could have contributed to short term and long term illnesses.

The estimated family income for residents in this area was between $400 to $1500 annually, and families had access to churches, schools, and a community business district. Biddleville is also home to charlotte's very own HBCU, Johnson C. Smith University.

Boston, MA

tandlerj — 2024-03-15 03:46:41 UTC

In Charlotte, North Carolina, there are three areas that are shaded green because they are considered to be the “best” based on a series of characteristics that include inhabitants, influences, and price ranges. For example, the inhabitants of areas colored green are labeled as “professional men” of primarily white background, as opposed to the labels given to inhabitants of the areas shaded yellow and red which include “mechanics” and “laborers and domestic servants” with more diverse populations. It is clear that the societal ranking of career choices has a significantly contributing factor to the classification of the area. In addition, this characteristic also plays a role in the average range of income and the average cost of housing in these areas, making it clear that these categorizations are attributing bias towards white men of high paying jobs.

In Boston, Massachusetts, there is a much more scattered layout of different colored areas. In the yellow areas, which cover a majority of the land, there are large Italian and Polish populations with an infiltration of foreign individuals and families. Interestingly enough, the green shades represent areas that aren’t inhabited by any population. Meanwhile red areas list their inhabitants as predominantly white with “negro” populations ranging as high as 25%. However, the coloring of the red areas are also influenced by heavy traffic patterns, population congestion, and unimproved housing designs. As compared to Charlotte, this can indicate how race might have less of an effect on the ranking of communities within the city of Boston. Although, it can be argued that there is still a presence of racial bias going on.

Seattle, WA, USA

kheetahgirl — 2024-03-15 03:47:32 UTC

I decided to look at Seattle as my second city. The area descriptions were set up very differently than Charlotte's area descriptions. D4 and D5 were the only ones I saw mentioning race as a detriment to the area. D5 mentioned that "This district is composed of various mixed nationalities.".

While D4 just stated that it was the negro area. Other than that, they had hazardous areas and a lack of transportation.

Louisville, KY

2024-03-15 04:13:40 UTC

The HOLC came into effect in Louisville around 1930-1940. These mappings graded neighborhoods based on facts from housing quality, race, and socioeconomic status. As we have educated ourselves on this topic, red was known to be the lowest grade and green the highest. It was seen very often that Immigrant and African American neighborhoods were often faced with discriminatory gradings and birthing redlining. At the Frazier Museum in downtown Louisville, there is an entire floor dedicated to educating the public on the history of redlining in Louisville and how the city still suffered from the actions of redlining. One of these actions that the red-graded communities faced was being denied access to mortgage loans as well as other financial services. As a domino effect, people in these communities could not invest in property, or buy homes causing property value to plummet, disinvestment, as well impacting access to capital for improvements. As I researched more about redlining in Louisville, I found a term called “white flight”. Summarizing this; when the less fortunate people (that being people from the immigrant and black community) living downtown had their land bought from them and were forced out of downtown a majority of this community moved to the West of Louisville. At the time, the West of Louisville was home to a large white community. But as the downtown community was being pushed out and found a majority of available living in the West end, the white community that was living in the West end found great discomfort and feared for the property value as well as their “safety” so they moved, hence to “white flight”. The people within the West End community that left moved to the suburbs of Louisville, and as this was in the 1960’s it caused Louisville to resegregate once again.

Shorewood, Milwaukee, WI

sawyerr6 — 2024-03-15 04:36:11 UTC

This area in Wisconsin is described by the HOLC as on the downgrade. Unlike charlotte's hazardous areas that are labeled as such mostly because of their race/ethnicity population, the Shorewood area of Milwaukee, WI is hazardous because the railroad runs diagonally through the section. Making it less than desirable to many. Those that make up the area are white, with the majority being foreign born. There is an extremely low amount of Black Americans in this area if any at all, as 80% of the population is Polish, Russian, and German.

The annual income for these families are between $1200 and $1500, and they are predominantly laborers. The area does have access to all utilities, schools, and transportation. However, similarly to biddleville in charlotte, many of the residents residing in the area are relief families receiving economic aid through federal government assistance programs.