For decades, low-income and minority communities across the United States were intentionally cut off from lending and investment through a system known as redlining. The practice started in the 1930s and lasted decades before being declared illegal. But the impact of redlining remains today as many neighborhoods suffer not only from reduced wealth and greater poverty but from lower life expectancy and a higher incidence of chronic diseases.
On this edition of UWM Today, we talk with two UWM researchers involved in major studies that show how the legacy of redlining that started 80 years is seen today in many of Milwaukee’s poorest neighborhoods. Our guests are Helen Meier, assistant professor in UWM’s Zilber School of Public Health, and Emily Lynch, an alumna of the Zilber School who partnered with Helen on the redlining research.
