Who has more walkable routes to parks? An environmental justice study of Safe Routes to Parks in neighborhoods of Los Angeles

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe walkability of streets located near parks matters for public health and environmental justice. Urban parks could help address increasing health concerns in the United States; however, parks tend to be inequitably distributed, and unsafe or uncomfortable routes to parks might be additional impediments to park use. We therefore seek to uncover whether low-income ethnic minority communities near a neighborhood park have less walkable routes to parks, compared to wealthier and Whiter areas. We use Los Angeles’s San Fernando Valley as a case study and a street audit tool measuring walkability through microscale variables (e.g., pedestrian facilities). We find that low-income neighborhoods near parks have higher traffic volumes, fewer shade trees, and street environments that are less clean and well maintained compared to high-income areas and that similar disparities exist between ethnic minority and White communities. These inequities could deter low-income people of color, especially children, from visiting urban parks.