The author of this article examines the empirical support for the propositions that bank branches are significantly underrepresented in low-income and minority urban communities and that the problem has worsened in recent years. He tests these propositions with data on bank branch locations from 1970 through 1989 in five cities. The data from two of the cities are consistent with the propositions, but the patterns in the data from the other three cities are either inconsistent or mixed.
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