Start Date
2023
Description
Throughout the 1930s, the HOLC created residential security maps which graded residential areas from best to hazardous. This study investigated the connection between the proximity of industry to HOLC-graded zones on residential security maps in the top 50 most populous metropolitan regions in the United States in 1930, utilizing both geospatial and textual analysis. In ArcGIS Pro, ModelBuilder was used to automate the process of identifying and separating HOLC graded zones, creating buffers around industrial land use polygons, clipping the buffers to the HOLC graded zones, and calculating the area of the HOLC graded zones in proximity to industrial area. The textual analysis involved interpreting the area descriptions of HOLC zones. For both "A" and "D" graded zones, the frequency of words associated with proximity to industry, railroad, and smoke/odors was recorded. The study found that as the residential grade goes down, the proximity to industry increases
Recommended Citation
Bjelland, Mark D. and Foll, Jacob, "Legacy Industry and Redlining in American Cities" (2023). Summer Research. 11.
https://digitalcommons.calvin.edu/summer_research/2023/Posters/11
Included in
Legacy Industry and Redlining in American Cities
Throughout the 1930s, the HOLC created residential security maps which graded residential areas from best to hazardous. This study investigated the connection between the proximity of industry to HOLC-graded zones on residential security maps in the top 50 most populous metropolitan regions in the United States in 1930, utilizing both geospatial and textual analysis. In ArcGIS Pro, ModelBuilder was used to automate the process of identifying and separating HOLC graded zones, creating buffers around industrial land use polygons, clipping the buffers to the HOLC graded zones, and calculating the area of the HOLC graded zones in proximity to industrial area. The textual analysis involved interpreting the area descriptions of HOLC zones. For both "A" and "D" graded zones, the frequency of words associated with proximity to industry, railroad, and smoke/odors was recorded. The study found that as the residential grade goes down, the proximity to industry increases