Blockbusting

Type: Concept

As of November 2026, Blockbusting has been mentioned in one podcast episode on The Daily Show (Feb 2026). Blockbusting is mentioned alongside redlining as a market manipulation that shaped neighborhood change and depressed wealth-building opportunities for Black families.

Blockbusting is a business practice in the United States in which real estate agents and building developers convinced residents in a particular area to sell their property at below-market prices. This was achieved by fearmongering the homeowners, telling them that racial minorities would soon be moving into their neighborhoods. The blockbusters would then sell those same houses at inflated prices to black families seeking upward mobility.