Although challenges in water and sanitation access are often assumed to be issues of low- and middle-income nations, over 400,000 homes in the United States still lack access to complete indoor plumbing. Previous research has demonstrated that the remaining plumbing challenges are more prevalent in communities with high Black and brown populations. This study hypothesizes that the 1930s practice of redlining by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC), which systematically denied loans to minority populations, is linked to present-day inadequate plumbing access (i.e. defined as incomplete plumbing above the national average). Digitized HOLC maps for 202 urban areas across the country and US Census data from the 2016-2020 American Community Survey were combined to interpolate the modern-day plumbing access for historic neighborhoods (n=8871 communities). Analysis via binomial logistic regression demonstrated that nationally, redlined communities (HOLC Grade "D") are significantly more likely to have a rate of incomplete plumbing above the national average as compared to greenlined communities (HOLC Grade "A") (0.1352; CI= +0.036). This finding was also observed for three of the nation's four census sub-regions (Northeast, Midwest, West). Slight differences by region in relationships between the proportion of specific racial/ethnic populations on rates of incomplete plumbing demonstrate the need for targeted place-based interdisciplinary examinations of exclusionary practices. The demonstration of the present-day impacts of redlining after nearly 90 years emphasizes the need to intentionally mitigate past injustices to ensure modern-day equity. / Master of Science / Access to water is a prevailing issue in underserved communities. Over 400,000 homes in the United States still lack access to complete indoor plumbing. This condition is called incomplete plumbing which is defined by the US Census Bureau as not being able to use running water, or flush a toilet, or bath. Redlining is the historical practice of denying loans to homeowners in a certain area based on their race or economic status. Our study sought to discover whether redlining has negatively affected the presence of plumbing in homes. To do this we examined whether incomplete plumbing in 2020 was above the national average in areas that were previously redlined. We found that redlined communities are significantly more likely to have a rate of incomplete plumbing above the national average as compared to greenlined communities. The same trend was found in three of the nation's four census sub-regions (Northeast, Midwest, and West). These findings show that racist practices such as redlining have had a lasting effect on modern-day infrastructure such as plumbing.

This project addresses how residential segregation have stymied home ownership and wealth in the black community; inhibiting true housing equity. This thesis project will attempt to use design as a means to help address past and continuing discrimination. Accessibility, affordability and accountability are central to this goal, which will be addressed in the project. The site chosen for this project is the St. Luke’s Building located in Richmond, VA. This building was home to the Independent Order of St. Luke, a fraternal and cooperative insurance society for blacks. It also housed the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank which was founded in 1903 by Maggie Walker. Walker was the first woman to charter a bank in the United States.

The 2008-2010 foreclosure crisis and the Beltline project present two significant forces shaping neighborhoods throughout Atlanta. Both the high foreclosure rates and the promise of public and private investment create conditions for the displacement of existing residents and for the gentrification of the southwest Atlanta neighborhood of Pittsburgh in particular. Through qualitative analysis, including interviews with residents, community leaders, and government officials, the development of overlay analysis maps of Pittsburgh, as well as studying the various stakeholders' perception of risk for gentrification in Pittsburgh, this research examines how and why these stakeholders' perception of the risk of gentrification in Pittsburgh varies, and what these various perceptions mean. Furthermore, it suggests that scholars of the gentrification process should more fully consider the ways in which residents of impacted neighborhoods understand both local and more “global” dynamics of property markets and how various policies seek to mitigate the deleterious effects of gentrification.

The 2008-2010 foreclosure crisis and the Beltline project present two significant forces shaping neighborhoods throughout Atlanta. Both the high foreclosure rates and the promise of public and private investment create conditions for the displacement of existing residents and for the gentrification of the southwest Atlanta neighborhood of Pittsburgh in particular. Through qualitative analysis, including interviews with residents, community leaders, and government officials, the development of overlay analysis maps of Pittsburgh, as well as studying the various stakeholders' perception of risk for gentrification in Pittsburgh, this research examines how and why these stakeholders' perception of the risk of gentrification in Pittsburgh varies, and what these various perceptions mean. Furthermore, it suggests that scholars of the gentrification process should more fully consider the ways in which residents of impacted neighborhoods understand both local and more “global” dynamics of property markets and how various policies seek to mitigate the deleterious effects of gentrification.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The Butler-Tarkington Neighborhood Association (BTNA) is a community group organized in 1956 by a few concerned couples living in the Butler-Tarkington neighborhood on the north side of Indianapolis. These couples, both Black and white, witnessed a demographic change in their community as their white neighbors fled for the suburbs as the black population expanded. The BTNA, inspired to create an organization that would promote residential integration rather than continued segregation, worked to educate neighbors on the realities of integration, promote neighborhood conversation and comradery, and worked to influence the local and state governments on the impact of segregation that harmed their community. One of the first neighborhood organizations of its kind in the country, the BTNA still exists today, but little is known about their early history. This paper looks at the BTNA’s efforts to promote residential segregation in their community through activism, conversation, and legislative change. Additionally, this paper analyzes the BTNA success in its efforts to integrate the community during their first decade of existence.

This thesis examines the relationship between architecture and planning in Detroit. The relationship between these two disciplines has reinforced gross inequality in socioeconomic status over many decades. It has been compounded by racism which planning policy and Architecture exploited during the 20th Century for private interests. This impacts the built environment at all scales. Today division is reinforced through small details such as how handrails are placed on benches, but it extends to planning metropolitan areas, and how they are divided up into city and suburb. At the scales between, both architecture and planning reinforce the segregation within their own disciplines, but the stage is set at this intersection. The scale of 1”=100’ has a history of being a scale at which both architectural form, and planning, can be expressed simultaneously. This is famously seen in the scale model of San Francisco which was commissioned by the City during the Great Depression. Architecturally, the prevalence of skywalks between major buildings in urban areas has greatly increased. These networks grow organically, responding to a market demand for division, a city within a city. In Detroit, neighborhoods have edges, and within a few blocks, there is emptiness and abandonment. It is one of these edges that is explored in the intervention. The edges are oftentimes reinforced by the built environment with walls, traffic regulations, and pedestrian access carefully controlled at the scale of the neighborhood. Therefore, the thesis proposes a new form of development and is interested in this scale where architecture and planning are supposed to meet. Through this interdisciplinary approach, more problems are addressed simultaneously. The intervention identifies an educational district just outside of downtown Detroit and greatly expands it over several decades. 3 focus buildings were developed in more detail to sketch possible formal outcomes of the exercise in the built environment. The intervention proposes greater community input which informs this reimagining of neighborhood. The idea also draws on the concept of a “15-minute neighborhood,” which has been proposed by the mayor of Detroit as a solution to urban blight in Detroit.

Historical redlining, a discriminatory practice of the 1930s, present-day social vulnerability (SVI), and sports and recreational injury (SRI) hospitalizations are interconnected topics that highlight the intersection of race, class, and health in the United States but the relationships have not been studied to date. Thus, the overall aim of this dissertation is to examine the effects of historical redlining and present-day social vulnerability on SRI hospitalizations in the United States. The first study systematically reviewed studies that examined the relationships between neighborhood characteristics and SRI using multilevel modeling approach. Studies reviewed show that certain neighborhood factors, such as living in urban communities, were associated with increased risk of SRI. The second study examined the association between historical redlining and present-day neighborhood SVI in the United States. Results show that formerly redlined areas have higher SVI presently. The third study examined the association between historical redlining and present-day SRI hospitalization in the United States. Results show that redlining was not associated with increased odds of SRI hospitalizations, but was associated with longer length of hospital stay (LOS) among Black and Hispanic patients, and higher total hospital charges among Hispanic patients. The fourth study examined the association between individual and neighborhood social vulnerability and sports and recreation-related traumatic brain injury (SR-TBI) hospitalizations among pediatric patients in the United States. Results show that Native American children had higher odds of hospitalization for SR-TBI, longer LOS, but lower odds of discharge to post-acute care compared to White children. Older age was associated with higher odds of hospitalization and longer LOS while male sex was associated with shorter LOS for SR-TBI in children. Compared to children with private insurance, children with public insurance had longer LOS while uninsured children had shorter LOS. Also, hospitalization in neighborhood with higher overall SVI was associated with longer LOS. This study advances our knowledge on the impact of structural racism on present-day SRI outcomes and will inform policy makers to prioritize health equity by addressing the underlying social determinants of health and the root causes of disparities in SRI outcomes. / Doctor of Philosophy / Every year, around 9 million people get hurt while playing sports or participating in recreational activities in the United States. Out of these, more than a third go to the emergency department for treatment, and several thousands need to stay in the hospital because their injuries are more serious. Even though only a small number of sports and recreational injuries (SRI) require hospitalization compared to those treated in the emergency department or outpatient clinics, these injuries tend to be more severe. They can cause significant harm to a person's physical, mental, and emotional well-being, and they also put a lot of pressure on the healthcare system and society as a whole. This dissertation assessed how historical discrimination against certain neighborhoods, called redlining, and present-day social vulnerability affect sports and recreational injury hospitalizations in the United States. This research found that the neighborhood where people live or are hospitalized matter for how often they are hospitalized for SRI, their length of stay in hospital, the amount of money they pay while in hospital, and how often they receive follow-up care after leaving hospital. While historical redlining was not directly linked to higher odds of hospitalization, it was associated with longer hospital stays for Black and Hispanic patients and higher costs for Hispanic patients. This research also found that children from socially vulnerable backgrounds were more likely to be hospitalized for sports-related traumatic brain injuries (SR-TBI) and stay in hospital longer, but were less like to receive follow-up care after leaving hospital. For instance, children from Native American backgrounds were three times more likely to be hospitalized for SR-TBI and stayed in the hospital 27% longer, but were 99.9% less likely to receive follow-up care after leaving hospital compared to White children. Also, children with public health insurance tended to have longer stays in hospital for SR-TBI compared to those with private health insurance. This research highlights how structural discrimination can impact health outcomes, and suggests that policymakers should address the root causes of health disparities in order to promote health equity.

Throughout the late nineteenth century, into the twentieth century, and the twenty-first century, Black Americans have faced displacement, segregated housing, and limited economic prosperity. Due to this inequality, Black American’s face difficulties as they try to resurrect their hopes of the American Dream. To assess the experiences of Black Americans and the impact of racially segregated housing on Urban America, an examination of legislation, state-funded segregation, structural and systemic racism, and the acts of individuals in creating barriers to success for Black communities becomes necessary. This thesis works to understand and answer the question: to what extent does racially segregated housing impact Black Americans in urban America in the twenty-first century? When examining the historical, political, and social aspects of urban America for Black Americans, the disparities and inequalities come to the forefront. Within this study, authors address the systemic and structural issues that continue to diminish Black individuals within urban America. As policymakers, authors, and researchers work to tackle race, economic inequality, and the lack of economic mobility. This thesis brings attention to organizations that impede progress for those historically harmed.

In the wake of Emancipation, African Americans viewed land and home ownership as an essential element of their "citizenship rights." However, efforts to achieve such ownership in the postbellum era were often stymied by credit discrimination as many blacks were ensnared in a system of debt peonage. Despite such obstacles, African Americans achieved land ownership in surprising numbers in rural and urban areas in the South. At the beginning of the twentieth century, millions of African Americans began leaving the South for the North with continued aspirations of homeownership. As blacks sought to fulfill the American Dream, many financial institutions refused to provide loans to them or provided loans with onerous terms and conditions. In response, a small group of African American leaders, working in conjunction with a number of the major black churches in Philadelphia, built the largest network of race financial institutions in the United States to provide credit to black home buyers. The leaders recognized economic development through homeownership as an integral piece of the larger civil rights movement dedicated to challenging white supremacy. The race financial institutions successfully provided hundreds of mortgage loans to African Americans and were a key reason for the tripling of the black homeownership rate in Philadelphia from 1910 to 1930. During the Great Depression, the federal government revolutionized home financing with a series of programs that greatly expanded homeownership. However, the programs, such as those of the Federal Housing Administration, resulted in blacks being subjected to redlining and denied access to credit. In response, blacks were often forced to turn to alternative sources of high cost credit to finance the purchase of homes. Nevertheless, as a new wave of African American migrants arrived to Philadelphia during post-World War II era, blacks fought to purchase homes and two major race financial institutions continued to provide mortgage loans to African Americans in Philadelphia. The resolve of blacks to overcome credit discrimination to purchase homes through the creation of race financial institutions was a key part of the broader struggle for civil rights in the United States. / History

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