While the term “redlining” is now used to describe racial discrimination generally, its origins can be traced to the 1930s and the practice of lending institutions to use color-coded maps as a basis for determining whether loans could be given. The federal government identified potential risks at four different levels and neighborhoods identified as “D” were considered the riskiest and essentially not eligible for loans. Those neighborhoods were predominantly the homes of Black people. Redlining in terms of making loans ended with the Fair Housing Act of 1968.

In recent years, new efforts to identify zoning requirements that preclude affordable housing have helped promote social, economic and racial equity and inclusion. The National Zoning Atlas, which started here in Connecticut with professor Sara Bronin and Desegregate CT, has helped expose the zoning restrictions that preclude affordable housing. The extensive and highly detailed mapping makes it obvious where there is little or no opportunity to build affordable housing.