Redlining maps are maps featuring financial demographic data. Click links below to view the redlining maps for Ohio cities:

(Note: Links open as PDF or JPG))

"Mapping Inequality"  Maps & Data

Index Map

"The lines that shape our cities"  

 A Story Map 

Please contact the Kirwan Institute for more assistance with the Redlining Maps.

A recent interview of Scott Markley by Ian Spangler which details his creation of a data set from the "Mapping Inequality" site from the University of Richmond.

Reporting on redlining: an interview with Scott Markley

"I converted eight of the most consequential variables from 129 cities into an accessible and analyzable tabular format. These include the Black population percentage, “foreign-born” population percentage and group, family income, occupation class, average building age, home repair status, and mortgage availability."

Data Link from article.

The Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) was created in June 1933 by the US Congress. The purpose was to refinance mortgages in default to prevent foreclosures. In 1935 Federal Home Loan Bank Board asked HOLC to look at 239 cities and create "residential security maps" to indicate the level of security for real-estate investments.

On the maps, the newest areas — those considered desirable for lending purposes — were outlined in blue and known as "Type A". These were typically affluent suburbs on the outskirts of cities. "Type B" neighborhoods were considered "Still Desirable", whereas older "Type C" neighborhoods were labeled "Declining" and outlined in yellow. "Type D" neighborhoods were outlined in red and were considered the most risky for mortgage support.

Websites with enhanced and in some cases interactive maps:

• Hartford, Conn.
• St. Louis, MO
• Richmond, VA
• Fresno, Los Angeles, Oakland/Berkeley, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Stockton, California
• Grand Rapids, Mich.
• San Antonio, Texas