In the 1980s, a set of historical city maps resurfaced to reveal a hidden facet of our neighborhoods—the redlined status. As it turns out, the implementation of these maps saved the housing sector and bolstered prosperity for some demographic groups but increased disparities in homeownership, wealth, and health for others. The structural inequalities set in place by federal policies over 80 years ago are still evident in communities today. As our nation continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, the historic designations of a neighborhood between “hazardous” and “best” continue to parallel inequities in testing, case rates, fatalities, and vaccinations. These historic lessons shine a light on the importance of explicitly including an equity lens for current policy decisions, not only to address current disparities, but the lasting effect decades later. (author abstract)
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