Enhanced urban greening efforts are needed to achieve equitable green and blue school infrastructure in some European citiesIn cities, children’s access to nature is often limited by inequitable distributions of green and blue infrastructure (GBI), which include parks, greenspace, water environments, and street trees. However, actions to green school grounds have the potential to reduce inequities in residential nature exposure and increase children’s exposure to health-promoting GBI. To better understand the distribution of GBI in school environments, this study examined changes in land cover and tree cover across four large European cities. The study also aimed to determine if GBI was equitably distributed within the cities.
Four European cities, Brussels (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Rotterdam (the Netherlands), and Paris (France), were selected for the research based on their urban and school greening initiatives. The study utilized a dataset for a total of 1259 primary schools (serving children ages 6-12) located in the four cities. GBI indicators, including green/blue space land cover (LC) and tree cover (TC) within and around the schools at 300-meter and 500-meter buffers, were assessed using the European Copernicus Urban Atlas dataset. The researchers applied a “3–30-300” urban forestry standard which suggests that “every citizen should at least see 3 trees from their home, have 30% tree canopy cover in their neighborhood, and should not have to walk more than 300 meters to access the nearest public green space.” Analysis assessed changes in LC and TC from 2006 to 2018, a time frame when the cities were actively implementing greening initiatives. Analysis also examined socio-economic characteristics of schools, based on neighborhood median income and educational attainment, in relation to LC and TC.
Across the four cities, data at the 300-meter buffer indicated that a far majority of schools (92.6%) were surrounded by less than 30% green and blue LC, with similar patterns emerging at the 500-meter buffer. Tree cover data across the cities also revealed that a far majority of schools (92.3%) had values below 30%. Therefore, the findings indicate that as of 2018 “a vast majority of primary schools do not yet seem to comply with recommended standards concerning GBI exposure.” Further, minimal changes in school-related green and blue LC were detected over time (between 2006–2018) with 89% of schools in all four cities experiencing green and blue LC increases or decreases ranging between − 1% and + 1%. Analysis of socio-economic and school-related GBI indicators across the cities revealed four distinct spatial patterns. Out of the 1259 schools, 48% were classified as “grey and underprivileged” (n = 605) and 36% as “grey and wealthy” (n = 407). To a lesser extent “green and wealthy” (n = 130) and “green and underprivileged” (n = 117) school environments were identified. Analysis also detected significant relationships between school-related GBI indicators and socio-economic variables in each of the cities. In Brussels and Rotterdam underprivileged areas tended to have less GBI. On the other hand, underprivileged areas in Barcelona and Paris were found to have more GBI, likely due to historical factors and wealthier families’ preference for city centers. Other findings specific to individual cities are also discussed by the study.
The study revealed that, in general, school-related GBI consistently failed to meet recommended standards. Findings also point to inequitable distributions in which underprivileged schools had lower levels of GBI. The study calls for enhanced urban greening policies that prioritize increasing tree cover around schools to equitably increase exposure to nature and its health benefits, especially in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
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