OUR FORGOTTEN BOROUGH | From redlining to rot: Housing struggles in the Bronx

Why did the Bronx burn in the 1970s? Many scholars who study that terrible period point to redlining, a discriminatory real estate tactic that sparked the fiery downfall of the borough’s housing stock.Financial institutions and insurers drew red lines on maps of neighborhoods with a predominantly minority and lower-income population. They refused to offer residents approval for new loans; they increased insurance premiums or provided no coverage at all.Without loans to raise capital, landl