Graduation Year
2025
Date of Submission
12-2024
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Economics
Reader 1
Sarah Robinson
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2024 Taylor Daetz
Abstract
This thesis examines the effect of discriminatory housing policy on current asthma rates in California cities. This study uses boundary design and propensity score methodologies to analyze asthma-related emergency department visits in census tracts with corresponding appraisal grades from the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation maps. The results indicate significantly higher asthma burdens in grade D (redlined) census tracts compared to grade C tracts, even when controlling for present-day pollution concentrations, with historically redlined tracts experiencing an average of 26.88 additional emergency department visits per 10,000 residents. The analysis further reveals disparities between grade C and B neighborhoods, suggesting that even less severely impacted tracts face meaningful health inequities. These findings align with previous studies linking redlining to poor health outcomes and highlight the compounded effects of structural disinvestment and environmental exposures.
Recommended Citation
Daetz, Taylor, "The Legacy of Housing Discrimination: Asthma Disparities in California Cities" (2025). CMC Senior Theses. 3751.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/3751