Neighborhood Changes: Then and Now

In the 1900s, banks and the government used redlining with color-coded maps to keep Black and immigrant families from buying homes in certain areas. They marked neighborhoods with many Black or immigrant families as "risky" and refused to give loans there.

Today, we see gentrification changing neighborhoods through money and business - fancy apartments, hip coffee shops, and much higher rent prices. One was done by the government, the other by businesses looking to make money. But both push out the people who lived there first.

When new, richer people move in, the old shops close down, rent gets too high, and longtime residents have to move away. Both systems end up moving out the same groups of people who were just trying to build a stable life.

A home is more than just a place to live - it's how many families save money and create wealth to pass down to their children. Owning a home helps families build a better future.

Redlining stopped many families from ever buying homes and building this wealth. Now, gentrification makes homes so expensive that families who've rented for generations can't afford to stay, let alone buy.

When families can't own homes or get pushed out of their neighborhoods, they lose more than just a place to live. They lose their chance to build something better for their kids. This creates money problems that continue for generations.

Look at maps of cities like Boston today. The areas that were marked as "bad" or "hazardous" on redlining maps 80 years ago are still mostly poorer neighborhoods now. And the areas marked "best" back then are still where the richest people live.

Even though the old rules are gone, their effects still shape our cities. Rich areas stay rich, poor areas stay poor. When new development happens, it often skips over the neighborhoods that need it most.

This isn't just history - it's happening right now. Our neighborhoods are still split by who has money and who doesn't, and that often means they're split by race too.