ATLANTA: REDLINING
These images show the 1937 redlining map overlaid on aerial photos of Downtown. The "clarifying remarks" from the red-lining map reveal the map-makers' intentions. Section D12, containing Summerhill and Mechanicsville, was estimated to be "40% negro" and "10% Syrians, Greeks, Italians and Jews." "This area [D-12] contains the oldest residential property in Atlanta and is known as one of the city's worst slum areas." On D20, which includes the historically affluent African-American neighborhood Sweet Auburn, the map notes "Property in this area, if acquired, should be sold as quickly as possible. Although this area is considered a good negro rental area from an investment standpoint, it also contains one of the city's worst slum areas." The map officially titles D17 "Best negro section in Atlanta," and notes that "Property if acquired in this area, should be held for fair value. This is known as best negro area in Atlanta and contains best type of negro residents and highest percentage of negro home ownership."
In Atlanta as with other cities, these red-lined areas bore the brunt of the government's "urban renewal" programs. As the federal government encouraged suburban sprawl through highway construction, mortgage guarantees, and loan programs (generally available only to white citizens due to red-lining, cities sought to "revitalize" their downtowns. The government-backed "white flight" to the suburbs had left cities depopulated and with significantly reduced tax-bases. In order to make downtowns more "attractive," cities across the country embarked on a program of "urban renewal." In practice urban renewal meant clearing vast swaths of the city deemed "blighted," demolishing hundreds of homes and businesses to create spaces for new massive stadiums and sprawling "civic centers." Entire neighborhoods were wiped out under this program of "slum clearance." Often buildings were razed and replaced with nothing more than parking lots.
