ANALYSIS // THE ZIP CODE TRAP - IS PLACE PROPHECY?
Why should five little numbers determine so much about our lives?
By Lauren Earline Leonard
EXCERPT //
When maps of historically redlined areas are overlaid on maps of current U.S. cities, the racial segregation now varies city to city, but consistent and deeply entrenched are the economic disadvantages. Most people living in a formerly redlined area have lower median household income, lower home values, and rents that, while lower than surrounding areas, still create a cost burden. People living in previously redlined areas experience higher rates of poverty, chronic diseases (such as asthma, diabetes, hypertension, and obesity), and a lower life expectancy. Less resourced, these people are also more vulnerable to personal crises such as an illness, a job loss, or natural disasters.
Though an appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is possible, the February school funding ruling is a victory for districts, parents, and advocacy groups who came together in 2014—represented by the Education Law Center and the Public Interest Law Center—to argue that the state’s funding system disproportionately affects low-wealth students and students of color. “At a high level, this is an extremely exciting time,” Deborah Gordon Klehr, executive director of the Education Law Center, told me. “What was made clear during testimony is that all children can learn and succeed when given the tools. ...The ruling solidifies education as a fundamental right.”
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