Redlining in Phoenix

This project higlights redlining in Phoenix and its longterm impacts on the communities of South and Central Phoenix. This project uses infographics, audio, photo, video and writing to highlight redlining history.

Redlining, the discriminatory process of denying loans and mortgages to residents of a particular area or people of particular ethnicities, has put South Phoenix at a disadvantage.

Redlining, a process no longer used and now illegal in the United States, prevented Black and Latinx families from purchasing homes in many areas throughout Maricopa County. Though redlining is no longer used today there are long-lasting effects still at play which have helped lead to increased housing instability. Redlining confined Black and Latinx families to the south of Van Buren Avenue and prevented them from acquiring property in North Phoenix.

The neighborhoods these families were confined to eventually developed environmental and toxic hazards. The neighborhoods lacked resources and became food deserts. Neighborhoods lacked sidewalks or public lighting, even trees that would provide shade in the hot summer months. There were few health care centers as well. Additionally, with the construction of the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, surrounding neighborhoods dealt with noise pollution too.

The neighborhoods of South and downtown Phoenix in addition to areas of Glendale have some of the highest eviction rates. In the article, “Housing Loss in Maricopa County, Arizona,” the Maryvale neighborhood has 30% of residents living below the poverty line and 68% of the residents are Latinx and 13% are Black. Furthermore, the Westridge Park neighborhood has an eviction rate of 32% and 60% of the neighborhood’s residents are Latinx. Areas in Maricopa County with the highest mortgage foreclosure rates are also areas with the highest non-white populations, just like the Maryvale and Westridge Park neighborhoods.

Overall, the predominantly Black and Latinx communities have higher rates of eviction, foreclosure and combined housing loss compared to areas with predominantly white households. Though redlining is no longer in effect, the practice confined minorities to particular neighborhoods where many people have stayed despite the unsuitable living conditions. Redlining, no longer practiced, has put these neighborhoods at a disadvantage and there is no coincidence that the neighborhoods with the highest eviction rates are the neighborhoods with the highest non-white populations.

Across South Phoenix houses still have low homeownership among Black and Latinx people. Though minority families make up the majority of the population in these neighborhoods, their home ownership is still very low. These areas with low homeownership are the very neighborhoods that old practices confined minorities to live in. Those neighborhoods are the ones with no sidewalks and poor infrastructure, low home ownership and substandard housing. Though redlining is no longer in practice many real estate agents still steer Black and Latinx clients away from predominantly white neighborhoods, according to the ASU Morrison Institute for Public Policy.