Abstract
Links between urban green infrastructure (UGI) and public health benefits are becoming well established. Despite this, how UGI is distributed varies widely. Although not a universal finding, sectors of society that are disadvantaged often suffer from poor provision, something which might be due to which UGI are examined. We assess the distribution of street trees and public greenspaces (two types of publicly-owned and accessible UGI) across the city of Bradford, UK which is characterised by high levels of inequality and variation in ethno-racial background. We do this through statistical and spatial analyses. Street tree density was distributed unevenly and was highest in neighbourhoods with a high proportion of Asian/Asian British residents and with lower socio-economic status. Conversely, neighbourhoods with better access to public greenspaces were characterised by high income and/or a high proportion of White households. While the quality of public greenspace was spatially clustered, there were only limited spatial associations with ethno-racial group or socio-economic status. Population density was a key determinant of the distribution of UGI, suggesting understanding UGI distributions should also focus on urban form. Nevertheless, within the same city we show that equitable distribution of UGI differs according to the form and characteristics of UGI. To fully realise the public health benefits of UGI, it is necessary to map provision and understand the causal drivers of unequal distributions. This would facilitate interventions that promote equitable distributions of UGI based on the needs of the target populations.
Highlights
Rapid expansion of urban areas and human populations began in the late 20th century and will continue in the coming decades, with around 70% of people estimated to be living in towns and cities by 2050 (United Nations, 2014)
Urban green infrastructure (UGI; including all green elements such as parks, public greenspaces, green corridors, street trees, urban forests, green roofs and private domestic gardens (Tzoulas et al, 2007)) has emerged as a concept which can help facilitate the inclusion of natural elements within the urban planning process (Sandström, 2002)
Subsequently valuing, its benefits (Gómez-Baggethun & Barton, 2013), urban green infrastructure (UGI) provision can be weighed against competing priorities for city planners, such as housing and infrastructure development (Elmqvist et al, 2015; Groenewegen, van den Berg, Maas, Verheij, & de Vries, 2012; Norton et al, 2015)
Summary
Rapid expansion of urban areas and human populations began in the late 20th century and will continue in the coming decades, with around 70% of people estimated to be living in towns and cities by 2050 (United Nations, 2014). As natural environments have been found to enhance human health and wellbeing (Hartig, Mitchell, de Vries, & Frumkin, 2014), such a reduction in accessibility will have detrimental effects on the quality of life of city dwellers through, for example, a lack of recreational space and increased exposure to pollutants (Lovasi, Quinn, Neckerman, Perzanowski, & Rundle, 2008; Nisbet & Zelenski, 2011). Providing UGI could, be an effective way of mitigating the loss of natural environments within cities undergoing processes of densification, and enhance human health and wellbeing for a wide cross-section of urbanised societies (Dallimer et al, 2011; Pauleit, Ennos, & Golding, 2005). UGI has been shown to reduce the impact of extreme weather events
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