Urban green spaces and social vulnerability in Brazilian metropolitan regions: Towards environmental justice

Abstract

This study assesses the spatial correlation between urban green space and social vulnerability in five Brazilian metropolitan regions (MR), Distrito Federal, Manaus, Porto Alegre, Recife, and São Paulo, containing 20 % of the country’s urban population. The spatial correlation method used was exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) with the Moran index and local indicator space association (LISA). In the analyzed municipalities, the urban green spaces are not mostly concentrated in areas with better social indices. In four MR, the most representative scenario (in terms of area), was the high social vulnerability accompanied by a high number of urban green spaces. This scenario was observed in peri-urban zones in the analyzed MR. The Distrito Federal (containing the national capital, Brasilia) was the only one case where the concentration of green spaces appeared in the most socially privileged areas. Regarding the most representative scenario, the major problem is not the lack of urban green spaces but the absence of a policy for the implementation of complementary urban facilities in such green spaces. These policies are fundamental for turning urban green spaces into places for social interaction, landscape contemplation, leisure, and culture. Therefore, in the context of land use policies, when green spaces are included among the set of the urban facilities, they become promoters of environmental and spatial justice and can reduce inequality in cities.