Historic racist housing policies have legacy effects that can be measured today. In this activity, we explore the widespread practice of 'redlining' in US cities, and its impact on current urban temperatures, tree cover, and impervious surface cover. 

This activity was designed for an introductory ecology course, as well as an introductory all-majors course called "Plants, Environment, and Society" at Macalester College during Spring 2020 (post-COVID adaptation). 

The short module includes video media and articles on redlining and urban tree cover, a worksheet that can be done individually or in small (remote or not) groups, examination of recent publications by Hoffman et al. (2020), and exploration of excellent interactive maps made by researchers at the University of Richmond and the University of Minnesota. As Macalester College is situated in the Twin Cities, many of the questions focus on St. Paul. 

• Mary Heskel
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• Redlining and Climate Change v.1.0 - published 19 Jun 2020 in Teaching Materials