Impact of Urban Segregation and Development on Mortgage Lending, Home Ownership, and Population Health

• Main Author: Naing, Khatija W
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-2024
• Subjects: Social research; Sociology
• ISBN: 9798384460558

Housing has long been recognized as an important social determinant of health, and many studies have shown the effects of housing availability, quality, and placement on physical and mental health outcomes (Forchuk et al., 2016; Sandel et al., 2018; Taylor, 2018). In this dissertation, I examine the intricate dynamics between historical and current discriminatory mortgage lending, segregation, development, and health care utilization and outcomes. My first paper examines the relationship between historical redlining and current discriminatory lending practices in Chicago. I find that Black and Hispanic applicants consistently face higher denial rates compared to Whites across all tracts, with these disparities notably intensified in historically redlined areas. In the second paper, I examine the ways in which census tract-level structural racism moderates the relationship between race, ethnicity, wealth, and mortgage loan denial rates. Here, I find that in regions burdened by higher levels of structural racism, both Black and, to a lesser extent, Hispanic applicants experience higher denial rates than their White counterparts. The third paper examines the impact of exposure to gentrification in Chicago on breast cancer care utilization and mortality. I find no association between gentrification status as defined in my paper and either the initiation of breast cancer treatment or mortality rates. This finding prompts further investigation into whether the operational definition of gentrification adequately captures all dimensions typically associated with the term. Collectively, these studies demonstrate that Black homebuyers frequently encounter significant disadvantages in areas burdened by historical neglect and structural racism, which restricts their access to the necessary capital to enhance their communities and/or relocate from these neighborhoods. It would be intriguing to investigate how gentrification interacts with the legacy of historical redlining in shaping the current socioeconomic progression of these neighborhoods.