Definition of "blockbusting" [blockbusting]

• Informal The practice of persuading white homeowners to sell quickly and usually at a loss by appealing to the fear that minority groups and especially Black people will move into the neighborhood, causing property values to decline. The property is then resold at inflated prices. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Just 50 years ago, so-called "blockbusting" led African-Americans into tight, white, ethno-centric neighborhoods of big cities such as Chicago and New York."
• "As early as the 1970s, Strupp explained, "blockbusting" practices developed as FHA loans were used by banks to get owners to sell quick, with the banks then reselling the homes to minorities at inflated prices."
• "I really think you need to look into how white flight was encouraged by suburban developers through conscious tactics like "blockbusting"."