Author(s) :

Xinyao Sarah Huang, Maisarah Aminah Dombrowski, Esthyr Stucky.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

Heat illness is becoming one of the most fatal climate-related conditions. Its harmful effects disproportionately impact historically marginalized groups due to a long history of institutionalized racism. In the 1930s, the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) assessed neighborhoods based on their investment risk. These grades discriminated against people of color, enforcing segregation and disinvestment long after the practice was outlawed. The process is now referred to as redlining, and its ongoing effects can be observed through various health and socioeconomic impacts. Our study intends to address the question “How does historical redlining influence the prevalence of heat-related illnesses in cities throughout the United States?”. We created faceted maps and ran linear regression using data from the US Census Bureau, the Centers for Disease Control, and Mapping Inequality to investigate the correlation between the percentage of the Black population and heat illnesses. Our models yielded mixed results in the strength of correlation between our variables. Chicago had the highest statistical correlation. Nonetheless, our study forms a link between the perpetuation of racially biased housing policies and the current prevalence of heat morbidity in Black-dominant neighborhoods.