New Study Finds Historically Redlined Communities at a Higher Risk of Flooding

A new study released by Redfin finds that historically redlined communities face a greater risk of flooding compared to non-redlined communities. The study found that across 38 metro areas in the nation more than $107 billion worth of homes at a high risk for flooding were found in redlined communities. This amount is 25% more than in non-redlined communities. People of color are more likely to live in historically redlined communities. In fact, 58% of households in formerly redlined communities are nonwhite, compared to 40.4% of households in neighborhoods that were labeled “desirable” during the New Deal era. The study further highlights the impact that past discriminatory housing policies continue to have on communities of color today and how housing justice is deeply connected to climate justice.

“Decades of segregation and economic inequality shoehorned many people of color—especially Black Americans—into living in neighborhoods that are more vulnerable to climate change,” writes the study’s author, Lily Katz. “Redlining kept home values in Black neighborhoods depressed, which in turn meant there was less money invested and reinvested in those neighborhoods for decades to come.”

Read the study here.

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