An unbiased park equity assessment needs to consider multiple park access dimensionsStudies focusing on park access equity in urban environments have generally focused on a single measure of access and have reported inconclusive results. To gain a better understanding of park access concerns in urban environments, this study used three park access measures: proximity, congestion, and park crime.
Hartford, Connecticut was used as a case study in this investigation. Two publicly accessible sources of data were used: the City of Hartford Public Data Portal and the Census Bureau data portal. Information gathered from these portals included (1) spatial data on parks, roads and city limit and (2) demographic and socioeconomic data of residents from 2012–2016. Three measures of park access (park proximity, park congestion, and park crime) were generated. The park proximity measure reflected the percentage of population with access to parks within a half mile. The park congestion measure reflected the number of people per acre of parks. The park crime measure reflected the actual crime counts within the parks and near the parks (within a 100-meter radius).
Results showed that the three access measures (park proximity, park congestion, and park crime) presented distinct spatial patterns and that any relationships between these measures were minimal. For park proximity, no inequities were found in relation to race, income, or education. There were some inequities associated with park congestion and park crime, often specific to particular locations. For example, higher median house value was related to less park crowdedness, particularly for White and Hispanic neighborhoods. Southern neighborhoods showed more park crime disparities with respect to race, education, and income. This spatial specificity allows targeted intervention of specific strategies. Another finding with relevance to targeted intervention was that neighborhood vacant lots were associated with more park crime and less proximity to parks. Vacant lot greening could be one way to improve park access. The overall findings of this study indicate that other efforts to make park access more equitable need to consider all three access measures at the same time.
“This study provides a new framework to evaluate park equity in cities by examining park proximity, park congestion, and park crime at the same time and identifying the spatially heterogeneous patterns of these three measures in relation to socioeconomic status of populations within the study area.” While this framework could be useful in urban planning and policy initiatives focusing on park access equity, it could also be useful in addressing inequities relating to other types of neighborhood greenness. Other ways in which this study contributes to the literature are discussed, along with some suggestions for future studies.
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