A City Divided: Creating a Simulated Redlining Map of Cincinnati, Ohio
Abstract:
A number of recent studies have attempted to link Homeowners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) ‘redlining’ maps to ongoing health, environmental, and socioeconomic disparities in U.S. cities. Some contemporary scholarship, however, has shown that Federal Housing Administration (FHA) maps had at least as great, if not greater, impact on reinforcing neighborhood bias and lending practices than the more highly publicized HOLC versions. Although no HOLC map for Cincinnati, Ohio exists today, an FHA map based on 1930 Census data was drawn for the city. In this project, we have created a GIS-based simulated redlining map for Cincinnati Statistical Neighborhood Approximations (SNA 2020) based on these 1930 Census median home valuations. This map may help us better understand the legacy that these exclusionary lending practices continue to have on present-day health outcomes across the city.
