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Using GIS-based spatial analysis to determine urban greenspace accessibility for different racial groups in the backdrop of COVID-19: a case study of four US cities.

ABSTRACT: As the United States leads COVID-19 cases on global charts, its spatial distribution pattern offers a unique opportunity for studying the social and ecological factors that contribute to the pandemic's scale and size. We use a GIS-data-based approach to evaluate four American cities-Anchorage (Alaska), Atlanta (Georgia), Phoenix (Arizona), and Portland (Oregon) characterized by the significant composition of different racial and ethnic group populations. Building upon previous studies that investigated urban spatial inequalities using the environmental justice framework, we examine: (1) the relative racial vulnerability of Census Block Groups (CBG) and ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTA) to COVID-19 (2) green space distribution at CBG and ZCTA scale. Using standard normalization methods, we ranked racial vulnerability against % available green space for each city. Our results highlight the legacy of past and present urban planning injustices. The project is useful from environmental justice, public health management, and urban planning perspectives.

Supplementary information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10708-021-10538-8.

SUBMITTER: Pallathadka A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8564283 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Using GIS-based spatial analysis to determine urban greenspace accessibility for different racial groups in the backdrop of COVID-19: a case study of four US cities.

Pallathadka Arun A Pallathadka Laxmi L Rao Sneha S Chang Heejun H Van Dommelen Dorn D

GeoJournal 20211103 6

As the United States leads COVID-19 cases on global charts, its spatial distribution pattern offers a unique opportunity for studying the social and ecological factors that contribute to the pandemic's scale and size. We use a GIS-data-based approach to evaluate four American cities-Anchorage (Alaska), Atlanta (Georgia), Phoenix (Arizona), and Portland (Oregon) characterized by the significant composition of different racial and ethnic group populations. Building upon previous studies that inves ...[more]

PMID: 34744264

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Project description:Interest in nature-based approaches for climate change adaptation in cities is growing. Whilst there is a growing field of scholarship in a European and North America setting, research on the policy and governance of urban greenspace for climate adaptation in subtropical Asia is limited. Given the different development patterns, environmental characteristics and governance arrangements in subtropical cities, plus their comparatively large population and high climate risk, this is a significant knowledge gap. In response, this paper evaluates competences - skill sets, capabilities, and supporting policy and legislation - to enact adaptation through greenspace across different governance contexts; and assesses how international rhetoric on nature-based adaptation becomes localised to subtropical Asian city settings. We conduct interviews with stakeholders, plus review of relevant policy and city-specific research, for three cities with different governance and development contexts: Hanoi (Vietnam); Taipei (Taiwan); and Fukuoka (Japan). Across all three cases, we find that institutional structures and processes for connecting different remits and knowledge systems are a bigger challenge than a lack of appropriate policy or individuals with the required technical knowledge. However, opportunities for civil society participation and consideration of justice issues vary between the cities according to the socio-political context. These findings illustrate the value of individuals and organisations able to work across institutional boundaries in linking greenspace and adaptation agendas for subtropical Asian cities; and the importance of competence in collaboration with developers and civil society so that the rapid development or regeneration seen in subtropical Asian contexts does not tend towards green climate gentrification. More broadly, our findings show that the diverse nature of subtropical Asian cities means the role of greenspace in climate adaptation is likely to be context-specific, and thus that caution must be exercised against uncritically importing best practices from exemplar cases elsewhere.

Project description:Accessible urban nature is a key component of creating sustainable urban communities and promoting human health and well-being. To balance the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, the United Nations adopted several sustainable developmental goals (SDGs), such as SDG 11 for sustainable cities and communities, which aims to improve urban planning and management, including equitable access to urban nature. However, more information is still needed regarding how planners and managers can promote urban nature visitation and equitable access during health and environmental crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to examine trends in urban nature visitation during the pandemic and then to determine if the effect of the pandemic on the frequency of urban nature site visitation varied by distance to home, using an innovative approach of analyzing both publicly available large-scale mobility data and a web-based survey of urban residents of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. The mobility data results showed that there was a negative mean % difference in park visits compared to baseline during the first and third lockdowns, but an increase compared to baseline between lockdowns and even during the second lockdown. This suggests that urban residents had greater need to reconnect with urban nature during and after periods of intense stress. In addition, the survey results showed an increasing negative effect of distance on urban nature site visitation during the pandemic, specifically for urban nature sites located more than 1 km from home. Altogether, the mobility data and survey results suggest that people who lived within 1 km of their preferred urban nature site had disproportionate access to the benefits of urban nature during and after lockdowns than others. To effectively make social and ecological transitions toward urban sustainability, it is vital that cities promote urban nature accessibility during current and future environmental and health crises. Cities should collaborate with diverse stakeholders to create/maintain accessible urban nature sites nearby all sociodemographic groups, provide sustainability education and training to convey the benefits of urban nature, and pursue participatory solutions for understanding urban nature needs and preferences. In this manner, it will be possible to address the growing influence of proximity/travel distance and additional factors that affect urban nature visitation and ultimately, human health and urban sustainability.

Dataset Information

Using GIS-based spatial analysis to determine urban greenspace accessibility for different racial groups in the backdrop of COVID-19: a case study of four US cities.

Supplementary information

Publications

Using GIS-based spatial analysis to determine urban greenspace accessibility for different racial groups in the backdrop of COVID-19: a case study of four US cities.

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