SEJ
Published on SEJ (https://www.sej.org)

Home > "How Decades of Racist Housing Policy Left Neighborhoods Sweltering"

"How Decades of Racist Housing Policy Left Neighborhoods Sweltering" [1]

"In the 1930s, federal officials redlined these neighborhoods in Richmond, Va., marking them as risky investments because residents were Black.

Today, they are some of the hottest parts of town in the summer, with few trees and an abundance of heat-trapping pavement.

White neighborhoods that weren’t redlined tend to be much cooler today — a pattern that repeats nationwide."

Brad Plumer and Nadja Popovich report for the New York Times with photographs by Brian Palmer August 24, 2020. [2]

Climate Change [3]
Environmental Health [4]
Environmental Justice [5]
National (U.S.) [6]
Public [7]
Source: NYTimes [2], 08/25/2020
  • Contact Us  |
  • Donate  |
  • Join  |
  • Members  |
  • Privacy & Security Policies  |
  • Reach SEJ Members  |
  • Renew  |
  • Site Map
The Society of Environmental Journalists
1629 K Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006
Telephone: (202) 558-2055
Email: sej@sej.org
© 2026 The Society of Environmental Journalists. All Rights Reserved.
All graphics © SEJ, unless otherwise stated.

Source URL:https://www.sej.org/headlines/how-decades-racist-housing-policy-left-neighborhoods-sweltering

Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/headlines/how-decades-racist-housing-policy-left-neighborhoods-sweltering [2] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/08/24/climate/racism-redlining-cities-global-warming.html [3] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/climate-change [4] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health [5] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-justice [6] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national [7] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/81