By Ellie Colbert
In the 1930s and 40s, the federal agency Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC), as a part of the New Deal, created ‘Residential Security Maps’ of major American cities. These maps color-coded neighborhoods based on racial demographics, local amenities and housing values. Green was for “best,” blue for “still desirable,” yellow for “definitely declining” and red for “hazardous.”
“Hazardous” neighborhoods were often redlined by lending institutions, denying residents from receiving loans or investments to improve the housing of residents. This map provides a historical look at racial segregation and wealth disparities across neighborhoods in Madison, comparing redlined districts to recent data of average house value and racial demographics of neighborhoods in Madison.
