How did redlining and HOLC maps shape housing?

• A. They labeled neighborhoods and denied mortgages to Black residents, creating lasting wealth gaps
• B. They improved access to housing in Black neighborhoods
• C. They only affected commercial loans
• D. They led to integrated neighborhoods

Answer: (A)

Redlining shows how labeling neighborhoods and restricting mortgage lending based on race shaped where people could buy homes and how much wealth they could build. The HOLC created color-coded maps in the 1930s to decide which areas were safe for investment, and red zones—where many Black residents lived—were treated as high risk. Banks often refused loans or offered worse terms in those areas, which meant fewer people could buy homes or refinance. Since home ownership is a major way families accumulate wealth through equity, denying loans in these neighborhoods helped create and perpetuate large, lasting wealth gaps between white homeowners and Black families. The pattern also reinforced segregation and disinvestment, rather than improving access, expanding integration, or limiting lending to only non-residential loans.