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comment by kingmudsy
kingmudsy  ·  1772 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Why Manhattan’s Skyscrapers Are Empty

    We speak nowadays with contrition of redlining, the mid-twentieth-century practice by banks of starving black neighborhoods of mortgages, home improvement loans, and investment of almost any sort. We may soon look with equal shame on what might come to be known as bluelining: the transfiguration of those same neighborhoods with a deluge of investment aimed at a wealthier class.

I'm not sure I appreciate the difference between this and gentrification?





katakowsj  ·  1771 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Isn’t redlining an agreed upon practice of discrimination? Sort of like, “Hey fellow white-guy, I think that this black family, who appears to qualify for our better mortgage rate has some “technical issues” that are unique to just them (wink...wink...) so they’ll have to unfortunately pay our premium mortgage rate.”

Gentrification may be similar, but as far as I know it’s typically not as well organized or intentionally subversive although the end results can be the same.

For former D & D gamers like myself, maybe redlining is lawful-evil, where gentrification is more chaotic-neutral to chaotic-evil depending who you ask.

kleinbl00  ·  1771 days ago  ·  link  ·  

"Redlining" is "We don't care who can afford it so long as they're white."

"Gentrification" is "we don't care who's white so long as they can afford it."

katakowsj  ·  1771 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Well said. I bet you could market a greeting card with that on it. :) Something to send a friend that had been shut out of the housing market.