Portland, Oregon HOLC Redlining Dataset And 2010 Census Dataset Map
For my map I explored Portland, Oregon (West Coast Best Coast!) and looked at the racial demographics for black households in the city. I also decided to look at the Oregon 2020 census to compare where the black population resides a decade after the 2010 census date. While population and households are not interchangeable it provided an intriguing experience and prompted me to ask about how the population has shifted and wonder if that would change the household information.
1) What questions could you investigate and/or answer
with your GIS?
With my GIS map I could investigate how the Black population was pushed out of downtown Portland and compare the shift in the categories of best, still desirable, definitely declining, hazardous from 1940 to 2010. Especially considering how the 2010 and 2020 census shows the limited Black population in the center of the city (where it once considered "definitely declining").
2) What does your map do well and what are the
limitations?
My map does an excellent job out displaying the locations where highest population of Black residents within the Portland city boarders. However, it's limitations are that it's harder to tell just how few Black Portlanders live within the city and the 1940 categories don't display the household population demographics. Those demographics would help show the movement of the Black population in the city and provide additional evidence on if they were pushed out of the city center or not. Furthermore, having the map display all the recorded races in the city to see how they all shifted within the city over the span of 70 years would greatly benefit the argument that redlining is still impacting Portland today.
3) What evidence from GIS could you use to support a
historical argument?
I could use this GIS to support the argument that the areas once considered “best” are still primarily populated by white and non-black residents and that there was some sort of shift that occurred between 1940-2010 that saw the movement of minorities, specifical black people, from central Portland to the outskirts of the city. This is evident in the lack of a Black population in the central red and amber zones of the city. I would be interested to know if those classifications have changed and why the southern half of the city seems to have shifted away from minorities while the upper northern parts of the city house the majority of the Black population.
4) What are some other sources you could add to the map to
better understand the effects of redlining?
Other sources I could use to better understand the effects of redlining are maps depicting property value changes, actual housing shifts (was there more housing built within the city and what type of housing), sources detailing the growth in unhoused individuals, and property ownership lengths (to determine if housing is passed down between families which would limit opportunities for other races to buy and own within the city).
In an effort to understand the effects of redlining in
Portland, Oregon I crafted a map using GIS that focuses on the 2010 census on
the racial demographic of black households compared to the 1940 Portland
redlining map. This comparison revealed an intriguing shift in where Black
Portlanders reside. Using GIS to investigate how Black communities were pushed
out of downtown Portland over seventy years revealed patterns that connect to
earlier redlining categories. Areas once labeled “definitely declining” in 1940,
which were made of predominantly Black and minority Portlanders, now show a
limited Black presence. Meanwhile the city’s central “best” zones remain
largely devoid of a Black presence.
Maps B and C highlight where Portland's Black population is
most concentrated within city boarders, although it cannot fully capture how
small that population is compared to the other minority demographics within the
city. It also does not capture how demographics have changed over between 1940
and 2010. Additional data on 1940 household demographics, property values, and
housing development would benefit this investigation and provide evidence on
whether the Black displacement was systematic.
With the limited data provided, this GIS map suggests that
redlining and subsequent urban development helped shape a persistent racial
geography. Areas considered “best” remain dominated by white residents,
while Black populations have shifted to the northern edges of the city. This
pattern raises questions about what economic, political, or social forces drove
that movement and why southern Portland saw a retreat of a Black presence. Including
sources such as housing construction records, property ownership data, and
statistics on the unhoused population would help deepen the understanding of how
the redlining legacy of 1940 continues to shape Portland’s racial landscape.
I really enjoyed reading your post! I think you did an excellent job of explaining your maps and findings. For example, it is interesting to see the difference between your maps showing the percentage of households with a black head of house and the percentage of the population which identified as black. Clarifying those things are crucial to understanding what the data actually shows! You also had great ideas for other variables you could introduce to the map. Statistics on the unhoused population in particular often go overlooked because it is impossible to perform a "census" of sorts on the unhoused population as thoroughly as it is for the housed population. Nevertheless, the work that people do perform to try and collect as much data as possible is really valuable and would be useful to map.
ReplyDeleteJustine-- this is really great! I appreciate how you showed all of the different layers/ data used and put them in this post. I find it compelling that areas once considered "definitely declining" now have a limited Black presence. Within my map I just showed the African American population in Columbia from the 2010 census, but I am curious of how it may have been different if I showed the percentage of black households as you did.
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