A multi-indicator distributive justice approach to assess school-related green infrastructure benefits in Brussels

Abstract

Environmental justice considerations in ecosystem service research have increased in recent years, especially in urban assessments. Many studies have focused on the unequal distribution of urban green infrastructure and related ecosystem services from a residential perspective. However, for certain population groups, such as children, considering other frequently visited urban settings (e.g. school environments) is also essential to assess distributive environmental justice. While there is an increasing number of studies measuring children’s access and exposure to green infrastructure in school environments, most of these assessments rely on coarse metrics of greenness (e.g. NDVI). In this research, we propose a multi-indicator distributive justice approach to assess schools’ outdoor environmental quality. More specifically, our study examines the spatial distribution of nine school-related socio-environmental indicators, including green infrastructure elements (n = 3), regulating ecosystem services (n = 2), environmental hazards (n = 2), and socio-economic background (n = 2) for nearly all primary school settings (n = 408) located in the Brussels Capital Region, Belgium. Bivariate and spatial regression analyses show that schoolchildren from wealthier families usually attend schools with greener and better outdoor environmental quality, generally characterized by more vegetation in and around the school settings, higher levels of regulating ecosystem services provision, and lower exposure to environmental hazards. We argue that addressing these multi-faceted environmental disparities should be prioritized when planning new school greening initiatives.