Legacy effects of redlining on the distribution of greenspaces in US cities

We investigated how a discriminatory housing policy – redlining – has
shaped the spatial patterns and configurations of greenspaces throughout
177 U.S. cities. Housing segregation has been a long-term development
practice that has sequestered communities of color to areas with
heightened environmental and public health risks. While the lasting
environmental, social, and economic impacts of redlining are clear, the
impact of redlining on landscapes are still unfolding. We found that
neighborhoods that were historically redlined have less greenspace and
that individual greenspaces were smaller and less connected. We also found
that residents living in these neighborhoods with less greenspace were
predominantly communities of color and/or had lower income. Thus, the
legacy of redlining can be seen in the modern spatial patterns of urban
greenspaces, and ecosystem services provided by greenspaces have been
systematically absent from redlined communities for decades.