The Persistence of Redlining: Evaluating the Spatial Legacy of the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation’s Residential Security Maps in Virginian Cities

Abstract

Virginia is a state with deep patterns of housing segregation and discrimination. These patterns were created through historic policies and have been perpetuated to this day. By combining US Census data with geographical analysis, this paper explores patterns of segregation in Virginian cities since 1940. When modern metrics are compared with 1937 Home Owners Loan Coalition (HOLC) redlining maps several patterns can be found. While these patterns do not provide definitive causality, they do suggest both quantitatively and qualitatively that the HOLC maps had a negative impact on the cities that were mapped. This impact is seen on the municipal level, affecting both tracts that were graded and those that were not. Additionally, these spatial patterns of segregation are strongly correlated with educational attainment, income, home ownership and several health metrics. This paper argues for a renewed effort by Virginian municipalities to engage in best practice efforts to mitigate the detrimental effects of this segregation and to reverse the effects of historic patterns of segregation and subjugation within the state.