Property Law: Implicit Bias and the Resilience of Spatial Colorlines

IMPLICIT RACIAL BIAS ACROSS THE LAW, Justin D. Levinson, Robert J. Smith, eds., 2012

UC Berkeley Public Law Research Paper No. 1919766

12 Pages Posted: 31 Aug 2011 Last revised: 14 Nov 2013

See all articles by Michelle Wilde Anderson

Michelle Wilde Anderson

Stanford Law School

Victoria Plaut

University of California, Berkeley - School of Law; University of California, Berkeley - Department of Psychology; University of California, Berkeley - Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law

Date Written: August 16, 2012

Abstract

Subjectivity and discretion exert tremendous influence over property and our built environment. From members of a city council to planning commissioners, from bank actuaries to developers, from tax assessors to neighbors, individuals constantly and silently make consequential judgments. How much is a home worth? How trustworthy is a credit-seeker? Is a proposed development, land use, or landowner suitable for this community? Is this neighborhood safe? Current research in psychology can tell us much about how we make such decisions and how the race of parties involved can shape those outcomes. This chapter investigates the application of unconscious bias research to property and land use decisions that affect where people live, work, shop, and travel - decisions that in turn affect household wealth, educational opportunity, health, and personal safety.

Keywords: Property, Land Use, Implicit Bias, Race, Fair Housing

Suggested Citation

Anderson, Michelle Wilde and Plaut, Victoria, Property Law: Implicit Bias and the Resilience of Spatial Colorlines (August 16, 2012). IMPLICIT RACIAL BIAS ACROSS THE LAW, Justin D. Levinson, Robert J. Smith, eds., 2012, UC Berkeley Public Law Research Paper No. 1919766, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1919766

Michelle Wilde Anderson (Contact Author)

Stanford Law School ( email )

559 Nathan Abbott Way
Stanford, CA 94305-8610
United States

Victoria Plaut

University of California, Berkeley - School of Law ( email )

215 Boalt Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-7200
United States

University of California, Berkeley - Department of Psychology

Berkeley, CA 94720
United States

University of California, Berkeley - Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law

Boalt Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-7200
United States

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