The legacy of the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation and the political ecology of urban trees and air pollution in the United States

This study examines the persistent impacts of historical racebased discriminatory housing policies on contemporary urban environments in the United States. Specifically, we examine the relationships between Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) grades assigned to neighborhoods in the 1930s and the current distribution of tree canopy and level of exposure to air pollution hazards. Our results indicate a clear gradient in tree canopy by HOLC grade,...