Trellison Institute
Causality Chain · Audit Detail

HOLC Redlining + FHA Mortgage Segregation

white_flight_redlining · order-3 · AP HuG subtopic 6.5 · status rated

A
Composite 12.00 / confidence high
Grade A: 3 sources, source_quality_avg=5.00, corroboration=3, claim_strength=2, geo_specific=1, counter_evidence_handled=no.

The historical event

HOLC Redlining + FHA Mortgage Segregation · 1937 · US metropolitan areas

Home Owners' Loan Corporation maps (1937+) classified Black neighborhoods as 'hazardous' → FHA refused mortgages → 80-year residential segregation pattern persists.

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Causal trigger + effect

Trigger

Card(s): edge_city
Conditions: {'requires_held_card': 'ethnic_enclave'}
Threshold:

Effect

Type: cst_delta_neighbors
Payload: {'delta': -1, 'reason': 'segregation_cost'}
Target: neighbors
Delay turns: 1

Methodology subscores

DimensionScore
Source quality (avg)5.0
Corroboration (independent sources)3
Causal-claim strength2
Counter-evidence handling0
Geographic specificity1
Temporal scope1

Primary sources (3)

Rothstein, R., 'The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America', Liveright 2017
Type: peer_reviewed · Year: 2017 · Geography: United States
Comprehensive synthesis of federal segregation policy; HOLC + FHA + zoning + Levittown.
Sugrue, T., 'The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit', Princeton UP 1996
Type: peer_reviewed · Year: 1996 · Geography: Detroit
Case study of postwar segregation + deindustrialization interplay; Bancroft Prize winner.
Aaronson, D. et al., 'The Effects of the 1930s HOLC Redlining Maps', AEJ Economic Policy 13(4) 2021
Type: peer_reviewed · Year: 2021 · Geography: 239 US cities
Quasi-experimental causal estimate: HOLC maps caused persistent 80-year racial composition + homeownership gaps.

Counter-evidence (0)

No counter-evidence noted. Trellison reserves the right to escalate this chain to "needs counter-evidence review" if challenges emerge.

Audit metadata

Audit ID: c09735ef743e4d678dd052b3d26e92d7
Audit date: 2026-05-14T05:54:32.703725+00:00
Protocol version: v1.0
Rater: claude_sprint2_auto
Corroborating independent count: 3

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