Sociodemographic correlates of greenness within public parks in three U.S. cities

Abstract

Equitable access to urban vegetation (also known as greenness), an environmental determinant of health, is an important environmental justice issue. Researchers often consider parks a source of greenness but there is a lack of research explicitly investigating the sociodemographic correlates of greenness within city parks. Using a high-resolution landcover dataset, publicly available park boundaries, and American Community Survey data, we investigated the relationship between greenness within urban public parks and the sociodemographic characteristics of surrounding neighborhoods. We found that parks were substantially greener than surrounding neighborhoods and that Black race, Hispanic/Latino ethnicity, and socioeconomic deprivation was associated with less tree canopy and more grass and impervious surface or soil within parks. Public parks are indeed an important source of greenness for urban populations, but the type of vegetation in those spaces depends on the city and sociodemographic characteristics of neighborhoods. Future research and interventions should consider both the type and amount of vegetation within parks.