The HOLC maps created in the 1930s were color-coded by mortgage risk, with majority African American areas disproportionately likely to be marked in red indicating hazardous designation. Which option best matches this statement?

• A. The maps were color coded by mortgage risk with red areas marked hazardous.
• B. The maps were used to indicate school quality.
• C. The maps were used to track weather risk.
• D. The maps were color coded purely for population density.

Answer: (B)

The main concept here is how the HOLC maps functioned as a tool for mortgage lending risk, a practice known as redlining. The maps colored neighborhoods by perceived loan risk, with red signifying hazardous areas where lenders were unlikely to provide mortgages. This system was used to guide lending decisions in the 1930s, and it disproportionately labeled neighborhoods with large African American populations as hazardous, leading to disinvestment in those areas. Therefore, the option describing color coding by mortgage risk with red areas marked as hazardous best matches the statement. The other options don’t fit because the maps were not used to indicate school quality, track weather risk, or measure population density.