Abstract
Although cities globally are increasingly mobilizing re-naturing projects to address diverse urban socio-environmental and health challenges, there is mounting evidence that these ...interventions may also be linked to the phenomenon known as green gentrification. However, to date the empirical evidence on the relationship between greenspaces and gentrification regarding associations with different greenspace types remains scarce. This study focused on 28 mid-sized cities in North America and Western Europe. We assessed improved access to different types of greenspace (i.e. total area of parks, gardens, nature preserves, recreational areas or greenways i added before the 2000s or ii added before the 2010s) and gentrification processes (including i gentrification for the 2000s; ii gentrification for the 2010s; iii gentrification throughout the decades of the 2000s and 2010s) in each small geographical unit of each city. To estimate the associations, we developed a Bayesian hierarchical spatial model for each city and gentrification time period (i.e. a maximum of three models per city). More than half of our models showed that parks—together with other factors such as proximity to the city center—are positively associated with gentrification processes, particularly in the US context, except in historically Black disinvested postindustrial cities with lots of vacant land. We also find than in half of our models newly designated nature preserves are negatively associated with gentrification processes, particularly when considering gentrification throughout the 2000s and the 2010s and in the US. Meanwhile, for new gardens, recreational spaces and greenways, our research shows mixed results (some positive, some negative and some no effect associations). Considering the environmental and health benefits of urban re-naturing projects, cities should keep investing in improving park access while simultaneously implementing anti-displacement and inclusive green policies.
Protected areas may prohibit large-scale deforestation and development, but still allow recreation via networks of roads and trails. Managers need to understand how the type of trail usage and the ...habitat the trail traverses influence the nature and extent of the trail impact. We measured the effect of trails on plant communities in a large, protected area in the southern Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Canada. We surveyed 118 transects adjacent to trails and 24 control transects at least 100 m from trails, recording the presence and abundance of all vascular plant species. We modelled changes in species richness, community composition, and the presence of exotic species as a function of trail type, vegetation type, and the distance from the trail edge. Overall, species richness increased with proximity to trails and community composition shifted significantly, with a greater likelihood of exotic species presence closer to trails. Heightened species richness and greater probability of exotic species presence extended a greater distance from off-highway vehicle trails than from footpaths, but only in shrubland and mixed forest vegetation. In addition, exotic species at higher elevations were most often associated with off-highway vehicle trails. Our study shows that the magnitude and extent of trail impacts on plant communities varies depending on trail type, vegetation type, and sometimes interactions between the two. The high frequency and intensity of off-highway vehicle trail use likely increases both propagule pressure and the severity of disturbance, while vegetation type determines light availability and hence invasibility. Managers can use this information to prioritize trail areas for exotic species monitoring and restrict high-intensity off-highway vehicle trails to less sensitive vegetation types at lower elevations.
•Trail effects on plant communities depend on both trail use and vegetation type.•Greater shifts in composition occur near off-highway vehicle trails than footpaths.•Effects extend farther from off-highway vehicle trails in some vegetation types.•Off-highway vehicles appear to facilitate exotic plant spread to higher elevations.
Abstract
Although urban greening is universally recognized as an essential part of sustainable and climate-responsive cities, a growing literature on green gentrification argues that new green ...infrastructure, and greenspace in particular, can contribute to gentrification, thus creating social and racial inequalities in access to the benefits of greenspace and further environmental and climate injustice. In response to limited quantitative evidence documenting the temporal relationship between new greenspaces and gentrification across entire cities, let alone across various international contexts, we employ a spatially weighted Bayesian model to test the green gentrification hypothesis across 28 cities in 9 countries in North America and Europe. Here we show a strong positive and relevant relationship for at least one decade between greening in the 1990s–2000s and gentrification that occurred between 2000–2016 in 17 of the 28 cities. Our results also determine whether greening plays a “lead”, “integrated”, or “subsidiary” role in explaining gentrification.
This study evaluated the Every Kid in a Park program to understand recreation and the contextual interaction between family resources, race, and recreation costs in families with young children. ...Using a large, nationally representative data sample from the American Time Use Survey (
N
= 5,119), we analyzed changes over time in recreation patterns of different socioeconomic groups before and after the initiation of the Every Kid in a Park program of the United States National Park Service. We found that free admission corresponded with overall increased frequency of hiking with a child for individuals in affected households. Changes in hiking patterns were concentrated among higher-income families, whereas no changes in family recreation were associated with socioeconomically disadvantaged populations (based on income). The findings have important implications, considering that outdoor recreation links with positive youth development, higher family cohesion, and improved overall family well-being. Additionally, results support the effectiveness of programs targeting children to increase recreation among family members.
Highlights
The study evaluated the frequency of hiking with children, a form of outdoor family recreation in the context of the Every Kid in a Park national recreation program in the United States.
Past research established that family recreation correlated with positive social and psychological outcomes and relational building in families.
This study found that program timing corresponded with increased frequency of hiking with a child for family members of eligible children.
Data patterns also demonstrated strong responsiveness among higher-income families and no responsiveness among lower-income families, suggesting that the initiation of the program linked with income-based gaps in the recreation evaluated.
There is increasing interest in the potential role of the natural environment in human health and well-being. However, the evidence-base for specific and direct health or well-being benefits of ...activity within natural compared to more synthetic environments has not been systematically assessed.
We conducted a systematic review to collate and synthesise the findings of studies that compare measurements of health or well-being in natural and synthetic environments. Effect sizes of the differences between environments were calculated and meta-analysis used to synthesise data from studies measuring similar outcomes.
Twenty-five studies met the review inclusion criteria. Most of these studies were crossover or controlled trials that investigated the effects of short-term exposure to each environment during a walk or run. This included 'natural' environments, such as public parks and green university campuses, and synthetic environments, such as indoor and outdoor built environments. The most common outcome measures were scores of different self-reported emotions. Based on these data, a meta-analysis provided some evidence of a positive benefit of a walk or run in a natural environment in comparison to a synthetic environment. There was also some support for greater attention after exposure to a natural environment but not after adjusting effect sizes for pretest differences. Meta-analysis of data on blood pressure and cortisol concentrations found less evidence of a consistent difference between environments across studies.
Overall, the studies are suggestive that natural environments may have direct and positive impacts on well-being, but support the need for investment in further research on this question to understand the general significance for public health.
Research on recreational place attachment suggests that place identity, or the emotional/symbolic ties people have to places, and place dependence, which describes a functional attachment to a ...specific place, influence the perception of social and environmental site conditions. Recent research, however, has found that place attachment is not always a predictor of such perceptions. This study investigated the influence of place attachment and experience use history on the perception of depreciative visitor behavior, recreation impacts and crowding in an urban national park. In 2006, 605 on-site visitors to the heavily-used Viennese part of the Danube Floodplains National Park were asked about past experience, place attachment, perceptions of depreciative visitor behavior, crowding, changes in visitor numbers during the past ten years, and recreation impacts on wildlife. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the two dimensions of place attachment. Linear regression analyses found that place identity and place dependence were related to some perceived depreciative visitor behaviors and visitor number changes but not to crowding, while experience use history additionally related to perceived crowding. Visitors with higher place attachment and past experience were more sensitive to social and environmental site conditions. Management implications of the findings are discussed.
There is a Chinese proverb, “if your wine tastes really good, you do not need to worry about the location of your bar (酒香不怕巷子深)”, which implies that the popular places for local residents are ...sometimes hidden behind an unassuming door or on unexpected streets. Discovering these unassuming places (e.g. restaurants) of a city will benefit the understanding of local culture and help to build livable neighborhoods. Previous work has been limited by the lack of appropriate data sources and efficient tools to evaluate the popularity, ambiance and physical surroundings of places in large-scale urban areas. In addition, how to characterize places with respect to different groups of people remains unclear. In this work, we propose a data-driven approach using social media check-ins and street-level images to compare the different activity patterns of visitors and locals, and uncover inconspicuous but interesting places for them in a city. We use check-in records as a proxy of the popularity of a particular type of place, and differentiate visitors and locals based on their travel and social media behaviors. In addition, we employ street-level images to represent the physical environments of places. As a result, we discovered a number of inconspicuous yet popular restaurants in Beijing. These restaurants are located mostly in deep alleys of Old Beijing neighborhoods, where the physical environments are not particularly appealing; however, these places are frequently visited by locals for social engagements. We also discovered beautiful but unpopular outdoor places in Beijing. These places are potential recreational areas for all groups of people and could be improved regarding urban design and planning to make these public infrastructures more attractive. This work demonstrates how multi-source big geo-data can be combined to build comprehensive place-based representations for different groups of people.
•A framework to characterize places regarding type, human activity, group and locale using multi-source big geo-data.•Deriving place group information from individual behavior data of different groups of users from social media platforms.•A data-driven approach is presented to uncover the inconspicuous-nice places of a city using street view images and check-in records.
Urban parks are essential components of urban ecosystems, providing recreation and relaxation places to residents. Measuring the spatial accessibility to urban parks serves as an initial step in ...urban planning and developing urban development strategies to improve social and environmental justice. This study aims to evaluate measures of spatial accessibility to urban parks by comparing three geographic information systems (GIS)-based approaches, accounting for network complexity, transport modes, distance thresholds, and destination choices. Taking Ipswich City (Australia) and Enschede (the Netherlands) as two testbeds, we examine the spatial patterns of a total of 21 accessibility measures in the two cities and conduct a correlation and principal component analysis to unravel the interrelationship between these measures. The results suggest that among all measures under the three approaches, the selection of distance thresholds and transport modes matter more to accessibility measures than the destination choices. Furthermore, when distance threshold and transport mode are held constant, the network-based and entrance-based methods provide more realistic accessibility measures than other methods. We also discuss the generality of the entrance-based method we propose and suggest ways to choose the most appropriate accessibility measure for use in different contexts.
•Three GIS-based approaches are proposed to measure park accessibility, with distinctive outcomes.•Network complexity, transport mode, distance threshold, and destination choice are used to measure park accessibility.•The selection of a distance threshold and a transport mode matter more than the choice of destinations.•Using network and entrance-based method generates more realistic accessibility measures than other methods.•The network and entrance-based method can be applied to measure park accessibility in different geographic contexts.
Outdoor recreation is important for improving quality of life, well-being, and local economies, but quantifying its value without direct monetary transactions can be challenging. This study explores ...combining non-market valuation techniques with emerging big data sources to estimate the value of recreation for the York River and surrounding parks in Virginia. By applying the travel cost method to anonymous human mobility data, we gain deeper insights into the significance of recreational experiences for visitors and the local economy. Results of a zero-inflated Negative Binomial model show a mean consumer surplus value of $26.91 per trip, totaling $15.5 million across nearly 600,000 trips observed in 2022. Further, weekends, holidays, and the summer and fall months are found to be peak visitation times, whereas those with young children and who are Hispanic or over 64 years old are less likely to visit. These findings shed light on various factors influencing visitation patterns and recreation values, including temporal effects and socio-demographics, revealing disparities that warrant targeted efforts for inclusivity and accessibility. Policymakers can use these insights to make informed and sustainable choices in outdoor recreation management, fostering the preservation of natural resources for the benefit of both visitors and the environment.
•Human mobility data applied to travel cost model to estimate recreation values.•Weekends, holidays, and the summer and fall months are peak visitation times.•Lower visitation from those over 64 years, Hispanic, or with young children.•Total recreation value of $15.5 million across trips observed in 2022.
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