The Final Call, March 23, 2022, Redlining’s legacy endures as 45 million Americans breathe polluted air: Study
More than half a century after the official end of discriminatory redlining, 45 million people across the United States—overwhelmingly in communities of color—are exposed to elevated levels of illness-inducing air pollution, a study published March 9 affirmed.
Although redlining officially ended following passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968, studies have shown the policy persists in practice in scores of metropolitan areas across the nation. Additionally, communities that were redlined remain predominantly minority and low-income today. A 2015 study by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition found that in Baltimore, race–and not economic status—was the most important factor in mortgage lending. Formerly redlined communities also face greater climate-related risks.
