The DOI matches its Crossref record; 85 of the 87 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Residential housing segregation and urban tree canopy in 37 US Cities
Open accessPublished version of a preprint
Abstract
Redlining was a racially discriminatory housing policy established by the federal government’s Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) during the 1930s. For decades, redlining limited access to homeownership and wealth creation among racial minorities, contributing to a host of adverse social outcomes, including high unemployment, poverty, and residential vacancy, that persist today. While the multigenerational socioeconomic impacts of redlining are increasingly understood, the impacts on urban environments and ecosystems remain unclear. To begin to address this gap, we investigated how the HOLC policy administered 80 years ago may relate to present-day tree canopy at the neighborhood level. Urban trees provide many ecosystem services, mitigate the urban heat island effect, and may improve quality of life in cities. In our prior research in Baltimore, MD, we discovered that redlining policy influenced the location and allocation of trees and parks. Our analysis of 37 metropolitan areas here shows that areas formerly graded D, which were mostly inhabited by racial and ethnic minorities, have on average ~23% tree canopy cover today. Areas formerly graded A, characterized by U.S.-born white populations living in newer housing stock, had nearly twice as much tree canopy (~43%). Results are consistent across small and large metropolitan regions. The ranking system used by Home Owners’ Loan Corporation to assess loan risk in the 1930s parallels the rank order of average percent tree canopy cover today.
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“Historical injustices remain pervasive in the United States with cities marked by large inequalities in access to green amenities (113, 114), with a major concern about gentrification from “green” redevelopment (115).”
From Global synthesis and regional insights for mainstreaming urban nature-based solutions (2025) · cites this paper as [113]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Locke, D. H., Hall, B., Grove, J. M., Pickett, S. T. A., Ogden, L. A., Aoki, C., Boone, C. G., & O’Neil-Dunne, J. P. M.
- Affiliations
- United States Department of Agriculture (US)
- National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (US)
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies (US)
- Dartmouth College (US)
- Bates College (US)
- Arizona State University (US)
- University of Vermont (US)
- Corresponding author
- Locke, Dexter H.
- ORCID
- Venue
- npj Urban Sustainability
- Published
- 2021-03-25
- Volume
- 1
- Issue
- 1
- ISSN
- 2661-8001 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3139378816
- Cited by
- 338
- References
- 87
- Citations by year
- 2026: 64 · 2025: 68 · 2024: 71 · 2023: 66 · 2022: 41 · 2021: 22
- FWCI
- 69.29
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- npj Urban Sustainability (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- SocArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
- SocArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (DBI-1052875)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Environmental Justice and Health Disparities
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies
- Social Sciences › Urban Studies › Urban Green Space and Health
- Keywords
- redlining, Home Owners' Loan Corporation, residential segregation, urban tree canopy, racial discrimination in housing, urban heat island, ecosystem services, metropolitan areas
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