1/ "Racial covenants" — language barring non-white people from buying or living in a property — were attached to tens of thousands of homes in Minneapolis.
That helped create a foundation for one of the biggest racial wealth gaps of any major U.S. city. trib.al/vCUjrJ1
That helped create a foundation for one of the biggest racial wealth gaps of any major U.S. city. trib.al/vCUjrJ1
2/ The first covenants were used by land developers beginning in 1910, as Minneapolis was expanding.
The effects were visible in just a few decades.
African American residents, who had been living across the city, were displaced and moved into fewer and fewer neighborhoods.
The effects were visible in just a few decades.
African American residents, who had been living across the city, were displaced and moved into fewer and fewer neighborhoods.
3/ Banks then "redlined" those neighborhoods, making it difficult or impossible for residents to get a mortgage to buy a home there.
City and state planners bisected the areas with freeways, as the interstate highway system was constructed in the 1950s and ‘60s.
City and state planners bisected the areas with freeways, as the interstate highway system was constructed in the 1950s and ‘60s.
4/ Minnesota banned racial covenants in 1953.
But not long after, Minneapolis instituted new zoning rules that restricted those neighborhoods to having only single-family homes.
That kept the land development pattern locked in for decades.
But not long after, Minneapolis instituted new zoning rules that restricted those neighborhoods to having only single-family homes.
That kept the land development pattern locked in for decades.
5/ Today, houses in Minneapolis that once had these covenants are worth 15% more on average than identical ones without them, says Kirsten Delegard, a creator of the Mapping Prejudice project.
White residents are also 3 times more likely to own their homes than black residents.
White residents are also 3 times more likely to own their homes than black residents.
6/ In January, Minneapolis enacted an ambitious plan in an attempt to address this. It changed land zoning citywide — acknowledging that the history of covenants created housing inequities that persist to this day. trib.al/vCUjrJ1
7/ Minneapolis eliminated single-family zoning, becoming the first major American city to do so.
The goal of the new zoning plan is to create denser housing near transit and jobs, improving the supply and helping combat climate change.
The goal of the new zoning plan is to create denser housing near transit and jobs, improving the supply and helping combat climate change.
8/ But zoning plans are essentially just blueprints for a city.
To make the plan a reality, community groups say Minneapolis city leaders will have to make unprecedented new commitments to affordable housing.
To make the plan a reality, community groups say Minneapolis city leaders will have to make unprecedented new commitments to affordable housing.
9/9 One community group director says there's no moving forward in Minneapolis without addressing its systemic inequity.
Still, she's hopeful — and plans to make sure the voices of disadvantaged communities are centered in the city's rebuilding effort. trib.al/vCUjrJ1
Still, she's hopeful — and plans to make sure the voices of disadvantaged communities are centered in the city's rebuilding effort. trib.al/vCUjrJ1
