Structural Racism and Pedestrian Safety: Measuring the Association Between Historical Redlining and Contemporary Pedestrian Fatalities Across the United States, 2010‒2019.

This article examines the association between historical redlining—a racially discriminatory housing policy implemented by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) in the 1930s—and contemporary pedestrian fatalities across the United States from 2010 to 2019. Using census tract-level data, the study found that areas graded "D" ("Hazardous") under HOLC maps had a 2.60 times higher incidence rate of pedestrian fatalities compared to "A" ("Best") graded areas, with a significant dose–response relationship observed across grades A to D. The findings suggest that structural racism embedded in historical redlining continues to influence present-day transportation inequities, disproportionately affecting communities of color and low-income populations. The study highlights the need for transportation safety programs and public health interventions to address these systemic inequities by incorporating historical context and focusing on structural factors rather than solely individual behaviors.