History Matters: Understanding The Role Of Policy, Race & Real Estate in Cuyahoga County

HISTORY MATTERS: UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF POLICY, RACE AND REAL ESTATE IN TODAY’S GEOGRAPHY OF HEALTH EQUITY AND OPPORTUNITY

IN CUYAHOGA COUNTY

Presentation and Panel Discussion: The City Club of Cleveland

February 18th 2015 – Cleveland, OH

Jason Reece – [email protected]

Director of Research, The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity

Lecturer, City & Regional Planning Program, Knowlton School of Architecture

The Ohio State University

In Collaboration with PlaceMatters Cuyahoga County.

HISTORY MATTERS: WHY LOOK BACK BEFORE LOOKING FORWARD?

“History doesn’t repeat itself but it does rhyme.” - Mark Twain

Cleveland 1952 & 2014; From the Institute for Quality Communities: http://iqc.ou.edu/2014/12/12/60yrsmidwest/

HISTORY MATTERS: WHY LOOK BACK BEFORE LOOKING FORWARD?Legacy Concerns: The legacy and long term impacts of

development history on the built environment and social fabric

Life Course Perspective: If we can look at a person’s health

through a longitudinal lens (the life course perspective) – then why not look at a neighborhoods through the same lens of time?

Place Matters: How did places become opportunity

rich or opportunity poor?

Policy Matters: How did historical policy shape the

community we see today?

PLACE MATTERS: THE IMPORTANCE OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT HISTORY

Understanding today’s environmental landscape and built environment requires historical context

There were a number of development practices and policies which have shaped our current built environment and human settlement patterns

Today’s built environment is not a “natural landscape” but is influenced deeply by these development practices

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RACE MATTERS: UNDERSTANDING OUR CONFLICTED HISTORY OF RACE, CLASS & REAL ESTATE

Racial and social exclusion, and exploitation were primary driving forces in 20th century urban development

When we look at today’s landscape of inequality, we must understand the historical drivers which created this landscape

These factors have strongly influenced current conditions are have direct policy implications for today

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HISTORICAL DRIVERS OF RACIAL SEGREGATION AND OPPORTUNITY ISOLATION FOR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR

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Racial

Segregation &

Opportunity

Isolation

Zoning & Land

Use Practices

Redlining &

Investment

Practices

Urban Renewal,

Public Housing &

Federal Highway

Policies

Explicit Racial

Discrimination &

Intimidation

Practices

FIRST RACIAL ZONING ORDINANCE IN 1910/1911 (BALTIMORE): USED PUBLIC HEALTH LANGUAGE AS JUSTIFICATION)

"Blacks should be quarantined in isolated slums in order to reduce the incidents of civil disturbance, to prevent the spread of communicable disease into the nearby White neighborhoods, and to protect property values among the White majority." Baltimore Mayor Bary Mahool, 1910

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RACIAL ZONING, EXPULSIVE ZONING, EXCLUSIONARY ZONING

Zoning used to prevent certain populations from living in a community Protect economic interests of communities

Great Migration and Urbanization Cleveland’s African American population grows

from 8,500 to 72,000 between 1910 and 1930

Racial Zoning was struck down in 1917, but the racist character persisted Aggressive use of racially/ethnically restrictive

covenants

Expulsive zoning: Undesirable land uses targeted to low income and or racial/ethnic communities

Use of zoning to restrict specific housing types

Village of Euclid, Ohio v Ambler Realty Co Zoning Practices Spread

Missouri Racial Zoning Campaign Advertisement

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RACIAL COVENANTS

Covenant is a contract imposed on the deed of a buyer of property

Mutual agreements between property owners that prevented sale to certain people based on race

Became common after 1926-Corrigan vs Buckley- Affirmed the right of private individuals to impose covenants

Reflected the rise of the KKK and the suburban boom of the 1920s

Maintained racial segregation

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COVENANTS IN OHIO & CLEVELAND

Covenants were prolific throughout Ohio’s major urban areas A study of Columbus developments from 1921 to 1935 found 67 of 101 (or 67% of all) subdivisions platted & developed during this time to included restrictive convents

In Cleveland, According to an NAACP branch report: By 1914 Cleveland housing exhibited “a noticeable tendency toward inserting clauses in real estate deeds restricting the transfer of the property to colored people, Jews, and foreigners generally.” Source: African Americans and the Color Line in Ohio, 1915-1930.

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COVENANTS IN CLEVELANDCase Study: Shaker Heights & Forest Hill

“surroundings ... where your neighbors are inevitably people of tastes in common with yours .... The careful restrictions placed on Forest Hill today will never be lowered.” Advertisement by Abeyton Realty, developer of the Forest Hill

allotment in Cleveland Heights1929

Covenants in Shaker Heights and Forest Hill often did not specify racial restrictions, but required the consent of the developer and neighbors to sell

Shaker Heights neighborhood associations and developers aggressively pushed convents

“ever-present menace to every resident of Shaker Village and throughout Cleveland.... Unless a street is 100% signed up for restrictions, ... the danger of an undesirable neighbor is an ever-present one.” Shaker Heights Protective Association 1925

Deferring Dreams: Racial and Religious Covenants in Shaker Heights,Cleveland Heights and East Cleveland, 1925 to 1970. By Marian Morton

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A NUMBER OF FEDERAL POLICIES WOULD RADICALLY RESHAPE URBAN AMERICAThe Build Out of SuburbiaThe FHA and the creation of the standard mortgage 1934

The GI Bill 1944

Federal Highway Act 1953

Infrastructure Subsidizes for New Suburbs

The Demolition of Urban AreasUrban Renewal 1949

High rise public housing

Berman v Parker (1954): Justification of using eminent domain for blight removal

Federal Highway Act 1953

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SUBURBAN GROWTH & RACE

New developments restricted to communities of color & African American communities redlined

In the prime suburb-shaping years (1930-1960) Less than one-percent of all African Americans were able to obtain a mortgage

In Cleveland African Americans were primarily excluded to Hough, Glenville, Mount Pleasant and Central during this time

Formation of “White” America Suburbia becomes the first space in which White ethnic identities dissolve

“If a neighborhood is to retain stability, it is

necessary that properties shall continue

to be occupied by the same social and

racial classes. A change in social or

racial occupancy generally contributes

to instability and a decline in values.”

–Excerpt from the 1947 FHA underwriting manual

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CRISIS, RESILIENCY & PROGRESS FOR CIVIL RIGHTSHough Civil Disorder

Bombings Targeting Integrationists

Federal Fair Housing Act

School Desegregation Efforts

Ludlow Community Association

Heights Community Congress

Advocacy Planning Era

Rise of the CDC Sector

Land Bank

Cuyahoga Plan of Ohio

Protestors seek to block Stephen Howe School Construction in 1964.

REDLINED: SANCTIONED DISINVESTMENT

Redlining, Race & Cleveland’s Development

REDLINING: 1930’S TO 1970The FHA explicitly practiced a policy of “redlining” when determining which neighborhoods to approve mortgages in. Redlining is the practice of denying or limiting financial services to certain neighborhoods based on racial or ethnic composition without regard to the residents’ qualifications or creditworthiness. The term “redlining” refers to the practice of using a red line on a map to delineate the area where financial institutions would not invest.- The Fair Housing Center of Greater Boston

This American Life, Nov 22, 2013

- “House Rules” (listen to 20:17-25:00)16

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HOLC NEIGHBORHOOD ASSESSMENTS

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1940 HOLC Map

Security Ratings

A

B

C

D

Industrial19

UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT ON NEIGHBORHOODS & RACIAL EQUITY

Redlining

DisinvestmentHousing Decline

Predatory LendingProperty Value Loss

Asset Wealth Loss, Dwindling Tax Base

Foreclosure & Vacancy

Crime & Safety,Health Problems

“Million Dollar Blocks”Infant Mortality, LBWAsthma LeadDiabetes

Racial Wealth GapCity Services and Maintenance 20

Where do African Americans

live in Cleveland Today?

1940 HOLC Map

Security Ratings

A

B

C

D

Industrial

2011 Population

% African American

61% - 100%

41% - 60%

21% - 40%

11% - 20%

0% - 10%

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Which

Neighborhoods

Received the Most

High-Cost Mortgage

Loans?

High-Cost Loan Rate

60.1% - 81.4%

40.1% - 60%

20.1% - 40%

0% - 20%

1940 HOLC Map

Security Ratings

A

B

C

D

Industrial22

15.4%

24.0%

35.2%

54.1%

14.7%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

A B C D Not Rated in 1940

Housing Indicators by 1940 HOLC Rating

High-Cost Rate Foreclosure Rate Vacancy Rate

Total Release (lbs)

930,240 - 3,387,639

435,528 - 930,239

88,419 - 435,527

0 - 88,418

1940 HOLC Map

Security Ratings

A

B

C

D

Industrial

Where is Toxic Release

Concentrated in

Cleveland?

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REDLINING & LEAD POISONING

Infant Deaths/ 1000

29.3 - 95.7

15.1 - 29.2

6.0 - 15.0

0.0 - 5.9

1940 HOLC Map

Security Ratings

A

B

C

D

Industrial

Which

Neighborhoods

Experience the

Highest Rates of

Infant Mortality?

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0.0000

2.0000

4.0000

6.0000

8.0000

10.0000

12.0000

14.0000

[A-green] [A/B] [B-blue] [B/C] [C-yellow] [C/D] [D-red] Not Rated

Infant Mortality Rate Neonatal Mortality Rate Post-Neonatal Mortality Rate

REDLINING & INFANT MORTALITY HOT SPOTS (DENSEST

CONCENTRATIONS OF INFANT DEATHS)

WHAT SHOULD WE LEARN FROM THIS HISTORYValues influence policy. Value infused policies shape systems, which either help to produce prosperity for all or create barriers to opportunity for some.

Historical policies have long-term, residual implications that need to be taken into account when designing solutions for today.

There is nothing “natural” about today’s challenges, nor are they unsolvable. Significant change can begin through coordinated efforts focused on fidelity to principles of equity and inclusion.

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THANK YOU & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSKIRWANINSTITUTE.OSU.EDU Kirwan Institute & OSU City & Regional Planning Team

Jason Reece, The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity

Matt Martin, The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity

Joshua Bates, City & Regional Planning Program, KSA

Amanda Golden, City & Regional Planning Program, KSA

Kelsey, Mailman, City & Regional Planning Program, KSA

Ronni Nimps, City & Regional Planning Program, KSA

The Cuyahoga County PlaceMatters TeamMichele Benko, Program Manager, Wellness and Prevention, Cuyahoga County Board of Health

Sandra Byrd Chappelle, Founder and Principal, Strategic Solutions Partners, LLC

Gregory L. Brown, Executive Director, PolicyBridge, Inc.

Daniel Calloway

Shakyra Diaz, Policy Manager, ACLU of Ohio

Marka Fields, Chief City Planner, City of Cleveland

Kim Foreman, Interim Executive Director, Environmental Health Watch

Vedette Gavin, Director of Community Engagement,, Case Center for Reducing Health Disparities

Martha Halko, Deputy Director, Prevention and Wellness, Cuyahoga County Board of Health

Sabrina L. Roberts

http://kirwan.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapTour/index.html?appid=23e4692987af425897779dd90bab2c5a&webmap=1bdbc65d84ef4457a35da519d8f3d5e2