The New York City Real Estate Industry and Voter Suppression

Abstract

The built environment anchors social, economic, and political community. A limited neighbourhood milieu fosters and maintains relationships that enable a community to realize its values. Fundamental civic activities such as ge ing out the vote depend on this empowerment. Voting has declined across New York City, but especially in the Bronx, which experienced the largest decline in voting between the 1969 and 2021 mayoral elections. The South and Central Bronx is now the largest city area of extremely low voter participation. This paper explores how public policies generated by the real estate industry – specifically redlining, urban renewal, and planned shrinkage – in conjunction with the Permanent Registration article in the 1938 New York State Constitution suppressed voting. The distribution of premature mortality and other health problems in the Bronx appear to be another consequence of these policies. That is, disempowerment and health erosion appear related and stem from influence of the real estate industry on mayoral policy.