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.