From XS to XL Urban Nature: Examining Access to Different Types of Green Space Using a ‘Just Sustainabilities’ Framework
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Department of City and Metropolitan Planning, University of Utah, 375 South 1530 East, Suite 220, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
2
Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, Utah State University, 4005 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2020, 12(17), 6998; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12176998
Received: 14 July 2020 / Revised: 24 August 2020 / Accepted: 25 August 2020 / Published: 27 August 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Justice and Sustainability)
Different types of urban green spaces provide diverse benefits for human health and environmental sustainability, but most studies on access to green space focus on neighborhood parks, with less work on smaller or larger green spaces. In this study, we examined sociodemographic differences in access to green spaces of different sizes for 14,385 census block groups in 12 U.S. cities using a ‘just sustainabilities’ framework. We classified green spaces into street-level greenery (XS), neighborhood parks (S–L; walking and cycling access), and large parks (XL; walking, cycling, and driving access). We ran spatial filtering models at the census block group level using different thresholds based on transportation modes. We uncovered a complex picture of inequality, with consistent injustices for XS green space, and fewer injustices for S–L and XL green space based on socioeconomic status and age, and some instances of just distributions for S–L and XL green space based on race/ethnicity. Our findings present a concerning picture for ‘just sustainabilities’: the green space type that is most often part of sustainability and climate adaptation strategies—street greenery—is unjustly distributed, likely as a result of structural racism in U.S. institutions. By examining multimodal access to green spaces of different sizes, this study helps urban greening professionals develop more just and sustainable strategies.
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Keywords:
green space; street greenery; green space size; environmental justice; just sustainabilities
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MDPI and ACS Style
Choi, D.-a.; Park, K.; Rigolon, A. From XS to XL Urban Nature: Examining Access to Different Types of Green Space Using a ‘Just Sustainabilities’ Framework. Sustainability 2020, 12, 6998. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12176998
AMA Style
Choi D-a, Park K, Rigolon A. From XS to XL Urban Nature: Examining Access to Different Types of Green Space Using a ‘Just Sustainabilities’ Framework. Sustainability. 2020; 12(17):6998. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12176998
Chicago/Turabian StyleChoi, Dong-ah, Keunhyun Park, and Alessandro Rigolon. 2020. "From XS to XL Urban Nature: Examining Access to Different Types of Green Space Using a ‘Just Sustainabilities’ Framework" Sustainability 12, no. 17: 6998. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12176998
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