American journal of public health
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Objectives. To assess if historical redlining, the US government's 1930s racially discriminatory grading of neighborhoods' mortgage credit-worthiness, implemented via the federally sponsored Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) color-coded maps, is associated with contemporary risk of preterm birth (< 37 weeks gestation). Methods. ⋯ Historical redlining may be a structural determinant of present-day risk of preterm birth. Public Health Implications. Policies for fair housing, economic development, and health equity should consider historical redlining's impacts on present-day residential segregation and health outcomes.