From flammable neighborhoods to moral hazards, fire insurance maps capture early US cities and the landscape of discrimination

Hundreds of thousands of Sanborn maps mapped the fire risk of every US city with over 1,000 people in the 20th century.

By: Jack Swab, University of Tennessee, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: January 13, 2026

Words: 720

Last Updated: 2 months, 1 week ago

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By Jack Swab, University of Tennessee

Imagine a map that allows you to see what your neighborhood looked like a century ago in immense detail. What you’re thinking of is probably very much like the fire insurance maps produced from the 1860s to the 1970s for insurance companies to identify potential fire risks.

Often referred to as Sanborn maps, after the Sanborn Map Co. that produced them, fire insurance maps were created for every …

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