redlining

American  

[red-lahy-ning] / ˈrɛdˌlaɪ nɪŋ /

Or red-lining

noun

1. a discriminatory practice by which banks, insurance companies, etc., refuse or limit loans, mortgages, insurance, etc., within specific geographic areas, especially inner-city neighborhoods.

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Etymology

Origin of redlining

redline + -ing ¹, as if banks, insurance companies, etc., had outlined such areas in red on a map

Example Sentences

Given the nation’s economic disparities, there’s been particular concern about a dispersal of Altadena’s long-standing Black community, which is focused on the town’s west side, in part due to a history of segregation and redlining.

From Los Angeles Times • May 2, 2025

Bruins coach DeShaun Foster credited Gilmer’s early arrival for spring practice, a willingness to prove himself on special teams and a motor that requires continual monitoring by the coaching staff to prevent redlining.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 5, 2024

Insurance brokers who help affordable housing providers have been redoubling their efforts to overcome stereotypes, if not outright redlining discrimination, that historically tended to elevate rates in low-income neighborhoods.

From New York Times • Jun. 7, 2024

I was saddened to see that the Wing Luke Museum exhibit “Confronting Hate Together,” a collaboration between different communities targeted by redlining, has been closed because of a staff walkout.

From Seattle Times • May 28, 2024

He leaned forward to hunch over his desk, and ignoring Scott, he went back to redlining another writer's story.

From Terminal Compromise: computer terrorism: when privacy and freedom are the victims: a novel by Schwartau, Winn