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The delimitation by financial institutions of residential districts within a city as being in decline and thus not sensible areas for mortgage lending. Such policies discriminate against potential borrowers (most of them low-income households) who can only afford to live in low-cost areas. The existence of such districts is often denied by institutions but there is little doubt that redlining is widely practised. More recently, decisions by financial institutions, such as banks, building societies and savings and loans associations, to close branches in low-income areas have generated concerns that various socio-economic groups are suffering \'financial exclusion\' — a further example of the changing geographies of uneven development: this is being countered to some extent by the creation of new elements in the financial structure, such as credit unions and local economic trading systems (LETS). (RJJ)
Suggested Reading Bassett, K. and Short, J.R. 1980: Housing and residential structure: alternative approaches. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Leyshon, A. and Thrift, N.J. 1995: Geographies of financial exclusion: financial abandonment in Britain and the United States. Transactions, Institute of British Geographers NS 20: 312-41. |
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