The notorious redlining maps created by the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation have illustrated the role of the federal government in institutionalizing racial segregation and housing discrimination. But federal redlining built on a longer tradition of private discrimination within neighborhoods and by the real estate industry.
HOLC area descriptions often made specific reference to neighborhoods being “restricted” as a way of building confidence that they were racially homogeneous and had set up structures to ensure they would stay that way. These restricted areas were far more likely to be rated “Desirable” or “Best.”
Area description from the HOLC city survey, available through the Mapping Inequality site.
The Federal Housing Administration also built their practices on a foundation of deed restrictions. The FHA Underwriting Manual, first written by appraiser Frederick M. Babcock and published in 1936, made specific references to deed restrictions and the protection they provided for neighborhoods.
