Subverting Redlining
Redlining was the practice in American cities that made it legal to discriminate against people of color buying homes in certain neighborhoods. The legacy of redlining is that some have been allowed to create generational wealth at the expense of others. Those below have worked to repair this injustice by creating homeownership that leads to generational wealth in communities left out of equity in home ownership. Property tax typically regressive research.
A 2023 Brookings report shows that Black homeowners are still taxed more than white homeowners while their home valuations are lower [[1]] Black homeowners’ property tax burden is 10% to 13% higher than for white homeowners, yet their homes are undervalued by an average of 21% to 23%.
What roles does home ownership play in intergenerational wealth [[2]]
Racial and ethnic gaps in home appraisals, Freddie Mac [[3]] “modeling results suggest that a property is more likely to receive an appraisal lower than the contract price if it is in a minority tract.“
Racial bias in home appraisal lawsuit [[4]]
Biden Harris administration creates new rules to target racial bias in appraisals [[5]]
One of the more promising solutions to repair redlining, unfair taxation and valuations is the Just Accounting Coalition in Western North Carolina with Urban 3 the lead consultant.
There were three innovative solutions to redlining at Neighborhood Economics, Jackson in 2023. One by Urban3, [[6]] a Repair Fund [[7]]by Eagle Market Streets CDC and one from the Neighborhood Vitality Index, [[8]]which has been deployed in Cincinnati and Indianapolis
Property Tax inequities are one key to understanding modern, ongoing redlining. It is overtaxing poor neighborhoods, while keeping their property valuations lower, while undertaxing rich neighborhoods. There is a growing movement working to subvert those unjust rules.
The Just Accounting Coalition 1 in Western North Carolina is one arm of that movement to redesign the economic architecture.