Why LA's Bird Populations Today Are Evidence Of Historical Redlining

Historically, redlined neighborhoods have higher building density, smaller property lots, fewer parks, and more concrete than those that are greenlined. And L.A.'s modern bird populations continue to reflect those resource disparities.

That's according to a new study connecting the discriminatory practice of redlining — denying home loans to certain neighborhoods, often based on the race of its residents — to the biodiversity found in L.A.'s bird populations.

"Birds are amazing because they’ll tell you what’s going on in the environment," said Eric Wood, the study's lead researcher and a professor of avian and urban ecology at Cal State LA. "[W]e love to study them because they tell if something’s healthy, not healthy, good quality habitat, not so good quality habitat."

See for yourself

Wood's research team has mapped bird populations, compared that to old redlining maps, and found direct correlations.

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A townsend's warbler sits in a eucalyptus plant

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Courtesy Eric Wood

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For example, they found more resilient birds such as pigeons, sparrows, and eastern starlings in a redlined area like Boyle Heights.

Other spots, such as affluent San Marino, are host to many more avian, including different types of migratory birds.

In short, discriminatory lending practices led to a lack of investment in some areas — and fewer bird habitats.

What's next

Wood and his team are focusing next on studying L.A.'s urban food chain, specifically how native versus non-native plants impact local bird populations.

"One of the things we are thinking about is trying to piece together these food webs between native and non-native plants, insects that are going to use those plants, and then birds," said Wood.

"We have a major project that we're working on right now, planting trees all over different parts of L.A., and we're trying to get at this question."