Race, Crime, and Lending Risk in Chicago: The Relevance of Crime and Disorder for HOLC's Neighborhood Assessments.

Summary: Back in the 1930s and 1940s, the government made maps of cities like Chicago to decide where it was safe to give home loans. This study looked at how race and crime affected those maps. The researchers found that mapmakers often labeled Black neighborhoods as "high crime" even if the actual crime rates were low. They used these unfair ideas to deny loans to Black areas, a practice called redlining. The study shows that racism was baked right into the rules for home loans, creating unfair housing problems that still hurt neighborhoods today.