37th Annual Student Research Conference
The Preservation of Structural Racism: Kansas City’s Historically Redlined Neighborhoods Becoming Urban Food Deserts
Mairin E. Warner
Dr. Amber Johnson, Faculty Mentor
Redlining was eliminated by the Fair Housing Act of 1968, but the effects of this discriminatory program still impact racial minorities today. Prior research has documented that urban food deserts almost entirely fall in the same districts that were previously redlined- and that the demographics of those neighborhoods are a majority of racial minority families. This study explores the effects that this connection has created for minority communities living in these redlined neighborhoods in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The guiding questions for this research are: Have historically redlined neighborhoods evolved into present-day urban food deserts? Are racial minorities more likely to reside in urban food deserts? How does their location of residence serve as evidence of the lasting effects of racism in America? Using QGIS, I concluded that 46% of Kansas City census tracts that were redlined have become urban food deserts, and house a majority racial minority population.
Keywords: Redlining , Food Desert , Kansas City , Minorities , QGIS
Topic(s):Sociology
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Session: 402-3
Location: SUB Georgian Room A
Time: 2:30