In this episode of pplpod, we investigate the history and enduring legacy of redlining, the discriminatory practice where financial services—such as mortgages and insurance—were systematically withheld from neighborhoods based on their racial and ethnic composition.

We trace the origins of this practice to the 1930s, when the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) created "residential security maps" that outlined Black and immigrant neighborhoods in red, classifying them as "hazardous" and unworthy of investment. We discuss how this federal policy entrenched racial segregation and blocked minority families from building intergenerational wealth through homeownership, contributing to a massive racial wealth gap that persists today.

Beyond economics, we explore the physical cost of these lines. We break down the connectio ...