Identifying and Analyzing Restrictive Covenants

This research project is systematically identifying and analyzing one of the widespread mechanisms through which housing discrimination has shaped residential patterns and household wealth inequality in the United States: restrictive covenants.  The research will use machine learning and manual review of property deeds to identify restrictive covenants in Massachusetts.  The research will then quantitatively analyze the characteristics of the properties and neighborhoods where the covenants were prevalent, visualize these data, and make a publicly accessible tool to better understand their prevalence and distribution.