Color and Money: Politics and Prospects for Community Reinvestment in Urban America (S U N Y Series on the New Inequalities)

By Sally O'Connor and Gregory D. Squires

A case study of Milwaukee, Wisconsin exploring how lending practices and access to capital are shaped by race.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, green is not the only color that matters to lenders. This case study of Milwaukee, Wisconsin-a fairly typical urban area that has experienced systematic disinvestment and a budding reinvestment movement-demonstrates the continuing significance of race in determining who gets home mortgage and small business loans. Confirming the ongoing role of politics in both nurturing urban reinvestment and fueling a backlash by financial institutions, Color and Money offers critical policy recommendations for increasing access to capital in central city communities and for racial minorities throughout the nation's metropolitan areas.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0791449521
• ISBN13: 9780791449523
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Length: 218 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.9" x 8.9"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A Reminder that Less is Still Less

Squires and O'Conner argue that the lending gap is narrowing in Milwaukee, WI. However, this is a slow process. The authors highlight that the narrowing of the lending gap has come about in response to advocacy at the local and national levels. Despite progress, efforts to improve access to capital in inner-cities are complicated by persistent opposition in policy circles and consolidation in the banking industry. If current trends continue, the outlook for inner cities is bleak, at best it may take in excess of 140 years for blacks and whites to have equal access to capital. However, Squires and O'Conner map out a course for improving the odds. In their chapters they indicate that the solution to the lending problem lies in a combination of: new lending products, mortgage counceling, affirmitive action hiring in banks, the location of more branches in inner city communities, and stronger CRA legislation.