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

ABSTRACT

The 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.

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Notes on contributors

Alessandro Rigolon

Alessandro Rigolon is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research centers on environmental justice questions related to urban parks. Much of his work to date has focused on exposing inequities in access to urban parks. Most recently, he has analyzed how land use planning processes, housing policy, and park funding measures determine how and for whom parks are established, maintained, and improved.

Zeynep Toker

Zeynep Toker is a Professor in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at California State University, Northridge. Prior to joining California State University, Northridge, she held a postdoctoral position in the Department of Architecture at the University of Cambridge. She has a PhD in Community and Environmental Design from North Carolina State University. She has conducted research on use of public open spaces and walkability and bikeability in communities in and around Los Angeles. She has also published on accommodating communities’ needs and preferences in their everyday environments. Her research interests include urban design, sustainable urbanism, and community participation in urban planning.

Nara Gasparian

Nara Gasparian earned her BA and MA in Urban Planning at California State University, Northridge. During her studies, she was involved in several research and community engagement projects, including efforts aimed to increasing walkability and mobility in Los Angeles’s San Fernando Valley, all while collaborating with local nonprofits and public agencies. Her areas of interests include smart cities and sustainable urban design, environmental justice, transit-oriented development, and urban revitalization.