redlining

Or red-lin·ing

[red-lahy-ning]

noun

1. a discriminatory practice by which banks, insurance companies, etc., refuse or limit loans, mortgages, insurance, etc., within specific geographic areas, especially inner-city neighborhoods.

Word History and Origins

Origin of redlining¹

redline + -ing ¹, as if banks, insurance companies, etc., had outlined such areas in red on a map

Example Sentences

The works are paired with compelling research, including the history of redlining and crucial heat-shade statistics, which visitors can interact with and see how their own communities are affected by these factors.

From Los Angeles Times

Although the courts later reinstated it, mortgage discrimination and redlining by banks lived on.

From Los Angeles Times

In this part of South L.A., park space is egregiously scarce, a remnant of redlining and disinvestment.

From Los Angeles Times

Given the nation’s economic disparities, there’s been particular concern about a dispersal of Altadena’s long-standing Black community, which is focused on the town’s west side, in part due to a history of segregation and redlining.

From Los Angeles Times

Even in the U.S., redlining and banking discrimination have historically been used to exclude marginalized communities from wealth-building opportunities.

From Salon