The effects of historic redlining on outdoor water consumption and residential wealth in Los Angeles (CA), San Jose (CA), and Phoenix (AZ)

Keywords: Segregation, Redlining, Water policy, Water equity,
Session Type: Virtual Poster Abstract
Day: Monday
Session Start / End Time: 2/28/2022 02:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/28/2022 03:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 32

Abstract

Disparities among outdoor water usage are intensified in drought-stricken areas like the Sunbelt states of California and Arizona. Outdoor water usage can be discerned and mapped based on the intensity of swimming pools, man-made water bodies and irrigated landscapes. In historically redlined communities, which previous research has shown are at a higher risk for heat related illness (Chakraborty, 2019), little has been done to connect the intensity of outdoor water, a mitigatory of heat, to a community's history of segregative housing policies and the housing values of these areas. The purpose of this study was to map the outdoor water consumption of the historically redlined Sunbelt cities of Los Angeles, California; San Jose, California; and Phoenix, Arizona to link a communities’ water usage to the amount of residential wealth and livable zoning it possesses. These objectives were accomplished by (1) mapping the distribution of residential water features in neighborhoods graded by the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC); (2) using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index data and the National Hydrography Dataset to obtain amounts of blue and green spaces within redlined neighborhoods; (3) linking property values to HOLC graded neighborhoods; and (4) assessing the zoning codes of HOLC graded neighborhoods. The results of this study show that the segregatory practices instituted by the HOLC still affect communities today, where redlined neighborhoods that contain less water also contain less wealth and livable zoning when compared to communities graded more favorably.