Historical Inequities Persist
Oakland's Historic HOLC (Home Owners' Loan Corporation) Redlining Map
Source: Mapping InequalityRedlining in New Deal America (University of Richmond)
The History of Redlining In Oakland
The practice of redlining communities has created persistent inequities across Oakland’s neighborhoods which can be seen by mapping various equity indicators geographically. This section of the website does just that.
What is redlining? The practice known as redlining today was a policy tool and part of a government homeownership program created in the 1930s to offer government-insured mortgages to homeowners. The Homeowners Loan Corporation (HOLC) vetted homeowners and properties to eventually create color-coded maps to show homes that could qualify for a loan and those that could not. Areas rated as 'A' (green) were the least risky, while areas ranked as 'D' (red) were the most risky. Uncoincidentally, areas ranked as 'D' were most often where Black residents and other people of color people lived. These redlining maps, driven by systematic racism, worked to enforce racial segregation and led to decades of disinvestment in communities of color in Oakland. This longstanding lack of investment in communities of color translates to less infrastructure to support healthy lifestyles, upward growth, and community (both human and non-human) well-being today.
Enduring Legacy of Redlining By marking certain areas as undesirable, denying federal assistance to minority communities, and disallowing people of color from purchasing homes in certain neighorhoods decades ago, it effectively limited people of color from participating in homeownership -- a primary mechanism of buiding wealth and equity. The racial wealth gap is only one way of one way of looking at the enduring legacy of redlining, and other contemporary patterns of inequity which were shaped by redlining are shown below.
Metrics Used to Track Inequities Today
There are many different ways to measure inequities from social, environmental, and economic perspectives. To begin to understand the multitudinous nature of inequities, we've mapped numerous indicators which track social, economic, and environmental inequities and vulnerability across space.
Please scroll through the maps in the carousel below for a quick overview of equity issues impacting Oakland today.
You can also learn about each individual map in more detail here:
Social Vulnerability Score Map
The CDC's Social Vulnerability Index identifies susceptibility of communities to external factors which may impact human health. It uses 15 social vulnerability-associated ACS metrics (e.g., below poverty, single-parent household, and households experiencing overcrowding) to identify areas least resilient to external shocks.
In the social vulnerability map above, one can can see the areas ranked as 'C' or 'D' in the redlining map had scores in the top quintile of those most vulnerable. Furthermore, three of the four census tracts in Fruitvale are rated in the highest (darkest) quintile for social vulnerability, indicating heightened social vulnerability and lower levels of social resiliency for folks around Peralta Hacienda.
CalEnviroScreen Score Map
The CalEnviroScreen Score uses 21 indicators to characterize both pollution burden and pollution characteristics to arrive at an overall score which seeks to portray the burden communities feel from various environmental factors.
The majority of census tracts in the Oakland hills scored below 11.7, while areas in the lowlands (areas which were historically redlined) scored anywhere from 33.2 to 65 -- over three times higher than tracts in the wealther, whiter Oakland hills. Similiarly to what was seen in the social vulnerability map, three of the four census tracts in Fruitvale all have high CalEnviroScreen Scores and all tracts immediately west of Fruitvale have the highest score.
Tree Equity Score Map
American Forests' Tree Tree Equity Score (TES) is calculated based on how data on tree canopy coverage and surface temperature align with socio-economic metrics (e.g. age, race, income). American Forests' goal is for each neighborhood to have a TES score of 75 or higher in order for them to benefit from the social, economic, health, and environmental benefits abundant trees can provide (Tree Equity Score).
In the map above, tan and light green regions have a Tree Equity Score of less than 75, indicating that there may be a need to devote resources to these areas to increase the tree cover. In Fruitvale, approximately half of the neighborhood has a TES of less than 75. Again, like in the two other maps, the area immediately adjacent to Fruitvale on the western side consistently performs lower in this metric. Peralta Hacienda plays an even more critical role for this community given its location in and adjacent to neighborhoods with low tree equity scores.
Additional Dimensions of Equity
Population Density
With just a few parks in Fruitvale, Peralta Hacienda provides crucial green, open space the densely populated neighborhood.
Renter Occupied Housing
The strip of land that was redlined also has a higher percentage of renter occupied units than do other neighborhoods.
Pollution Burden
Fruitvale also sits adjacent to some of Oakland's most industrial areas. As shown in this map, Fruitvale also is near some of the areas with the highest pollution burden. Peralta Hacienda's green space is an important asset for helping improve air quality in the neighborhood.
Non-White Population
North Oakland neighborhoods are home to a high concentration of white residents, while the percentage of non-white population is higher in East Oakland, with its disproportionate shortage of green space, and reliance on older public infrastructure such as schools and other community facilities.