by Loren Naftali, Fordham Environmental Law Review, Associate Editor, Class of 22’

Racial segregation contributes to economic and social disparities between communities of color, specifically those affected by “redlining.”  Consider intra-urban heat; another example of how a racist system continues to terrorize individuals decades later.

In the 1930s, the federal government graded neighborhoods to assist mortgage lenders in assessing risk. These grades were largely based on racial and ethnic makeup, neighborhoods with minority populations were considered high risk and thus “redlined” to warn mortgage lenders.

A recent study, conducted by Jeremy S. Hoffman, Vivek Shandas, and Nicholas Pendleton, analyzed 108 US cities to determine how redlining policies still affect communities today and specifically how they affect individuals’ exposure to intra-urban heat. The results of the study exemplified that neighborhoods located in formerly redlined areas, remain hotter than their non-redlined counterparts. The temperatures vary by region and can differ anywhere from 5-15 degrees hotter than their wealthier counterparts. Exposure to this increase in temperature is significant, as higher temperatures strain the heart and make breathing more difficult, resulting in higher hospitalization rates for cardiac arrest and respiratory diseases and ultimately even leading to death.

The drastic difference in heat between these neighborhoods is a result of decades of racially motivated and discriminating policies executed throughout cities nationwide. Individuals who previously lived in neighborhoods that were not redlined were better able to secure loans and become homeowners, landlords were more likely to invest in green space, and the government was more likely to provide public parks and tree-lined sidewalks. On the other hand, Black neighborhoods, were targeted for industrial use such as highways and warehouses, commonly built with heat-absorbing asphalt.

Although the Fair Housing Act of 1968 banned redlining, a majority of the areas previously redlined and deemed hazardous continue today to be predominantly low-to-moderate income and communities of color. As the study explains, the worsening extreme heat and its effects on human health, calls for the development of place-specific heat-mitigating designs to diminish the disparities amongst these communities and the dangers they face. The study further states, “climate equity-centered policies that recognize decades of disproportionate exposure to environmental stressors can help any new discoveries in urban design get implemented with focus and rapidity.”

It is past time for government officials to implement legislative and regulative measures to work on resolving these inequities. The fate of these communities lies in local government hands, and how officials approach these issues will determine whether or not these communities will finally get the environmental justice they so deserve.