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Landscape and Urban Planning 125 (2014) 234–244

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Landscape and Urban Planning

j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / l a n d u r b p l a n

esearch Paper

rban green space, public health, and environmental justice: he challenge of making cities ‘just green enough’

ennifer R. Wolch a,∗, Jason Byrne b, Joshua P. Newell c

University of California, Berkeley, 230 Wurster Hall #1820, Berkeley, CA 94720-1820, USA School of Environment, Griffith University, Australia School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, USA

i g h l i g h t s

Urban green space promotes physical activity and public health. Many US minority communities lack green space access, an environmental injustice. US and Chinese cities have developed innovative ways to create new green space. Urban greening can, however, create paradoxical effects such as gentrification. Urban green space projects need more integrative sustainability policies to protect communities.

r t i c l e i n f o

rticle history: vailable online 2 March 2014

eywords: rban green spaces cosystem services uman health nvironmental justice lanning strategies entrification

a b s t r a c t

Urban green space, such as parks, forests, green roofs, streams, and community gardens, provides crit- ical ecosystem services. Green space also promotes physical activity, psychological well-being, and the general public health of urban residents. This paper reviews the Anglo-American literature on urban green space, especially parks, and compares efforts to green US and Chinese cities. Most studies reveal that the distribution of such space often disproportionately benefits predominantly White and more affluent communities. Access to green space is therefore increasingly recognized as an environmental justice issue. Many US cities have implemented strategies to increase the supply of urban green space, especially in park-poor neighborhoods. Strategies include greening of remnant urban land and reuse of obsolete or underutilized transportation infrastructure. Similar strategies are being employed in Chinese cities where there is more state control of land supply but similar market incentives for urban greening. In both contexts, however, urban green space strategies may be paradoxical: while the creation of new

green space to address environmental justice problems can make neighborhoods healthier and more esthetically attractive, it also can increase housing costs and property values. Ultimately, this can lead to gentrification and a displacement of the very residents the green space strategies were designed to ben- efit. Urban planners, designers, and ecologists, therefore, need to focus on urban green space strategies that are ‘just green enough’ and that explicitly protect social as well as ecological sustainability.

© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

. Introduction

The world’s cities are becoming increasingly congested and pol- uted (Blanco et al., 2009). Urban green space provides a wide range

f ecosystem services that could help combat many urban ills and mprove life for city dwellers—especially their health. Such green pace is diverse, varying in size, vegetation cover, species richness,

∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 510 642 0831; fax: +1 510 642 7560. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (J.R. Wolch), [email protected]

J. Byrne), [email protected] (J.P. Newell).

ttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2014.01.017 169-2046/© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

environmental quality, proximity to public transport, facilities, and services (Dahmann, Wolch, Joassart-Marcelli, Reynolds, & Jerret, 2010; Fuller & Gaston, 2009; Sister, Wolch, & Wilson, 2010). Public green space includes parks and reserves, sporting fields, riparian areas like stream and river banks, greenways and trails, community gardens, street trees, and nature conservation areas, as well as less conventional spaces such as green walls, green alleyways, and cemeteries (Roy, Byrne, & Pickering, 2012). Private

green space includes private backyards, communal grounds of apartment buildings, and corporate campuses.

Ecosystem services provided by urban green space not only support the ecological integrity of cities, but can also protect the

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ublic health of urban populations. Green space may filter air, emove pollution, attenuate noise, cool temperatures, infiltrate torm water, and replenish groundwater; moreover, it can pro- ide food (Escobedo, Kroeger, & Wagner, 2011; Groenewegen, van en Berg, de Vries, & Verheij, 2006). For example, trees in urban reas may reduce air pollution by absorbing certain airborne pollu- ants from the atmosphere (Nowak, Crane, & Stevens, 2006). Green over and urban forests can also moderate temperatures by pro- iding shade and cooling an area, thus helping reduce the risk of eat-related illnesses for city dwellers (Cummins & Jackson, 2001; owak et al., 1998).

But within cities, green space is not always equitably distributed. ccess is often highly stratified based on income, ethno-racial char- cteristics, age, gender, (dis)ability, and other axes of difference Byrne, Wolch, & Zhang, 2009; McConnachie & Shackleton, 2010). ver the past two decades, the uneven accessibility of urban green

pace has become recognized as an environmental justice issue as wareness of its importance to public health has become recog- ized (Dai, 2011; Jennings, Johnson Gaither, & Gragg, 2012). The

iterature has focused on how to measure access to urban green pace, primarily parks; the relative access of socio-demographics o these spaces; and how lack of access affects public health. Most as originated from the United States, the United Kingdom and ustralia.

The reasons why green space is differentially distributed within he urban landscape are varied, including the philosophy of park esign, history of land development, evolving ideas about leisure nd recreation, and histories of class and ethno-racial inequality nd state oppression (Byrne, 2012; Byrne & Wolch, 2009). Often xplanations are interrelated and mutually reinforcing. For exam- le, US histories of property development are intertwined with istories of ethno-racial oppressions, philosophies of park design nd land-use systems.

In the United States, people of color and low-income earn- rs typically occupy the urban core and/or low-income inner ring uburbs where green space is either scarce or poorly maintained.

ealthier households often reside on the suburban periphery here green space is abundant, well-serviced, and well-maintained

Heynen, Perkins, & Roy, 2006). This environmental injustice has ecome a planning priority, leading to parkland acquisition pro- rams and diverse strategies to deploy underutilized urban land or additional green space.

Redressing park-poverty in communities of color and/or low ncome households can, however, create an urban green space aradox. As more green space comes on line, it can improve attrac- iveness and public health, making neighborhoods more desirable. n turn, housing costs can rise. Such housing cost escalation can otentially lead to gentrification: the displacement and/or exclu- ion of the very residents the green space was meant to benefit. In urn, residents may face higher rents and thus become precariously oused, while those who are actually displaced may be forced to

eave their communities, ending up in less desirable neighborhoods ith similar park-poverty problems. This paradox has negative ublic health implications, not only because of continued park overty but also because displacement and precarious housing sta- us themselves have negative public health implications (Bentley, aker, & Mason, 2012; Centers for Disease Control, 2011).

This paper offers a synthesis of Anglo-American research on the ole of urban green space in shaping public health and environ- ental justice. This literature has focused on urban parks, and to a

esser degree, green cover. Other types of green space (e.g., green oofs, green walls) have yet to be systematically studied. We first

eview scholarship on urban green space and public health, not- ng that many studies demonstrate the importance of green space ccess for health and wellbeing. Then, we review studies of urban reen space and environmental justice (Section 3), finding evidence

Planning 125 (2014) 234–244 235

that access to urban park resources is differentiated by class and ethno-racial dimensions, warranting intervention. In Section 4, we consider these health and justice findings as they relate to the rapidly urbanizing Chinese city of Hangzhou, and assess whether innovative efforts to expand inner-city green space there have been successful. We identify some similarities, but also significant differ- ences. In the final section, we evaluate potential interventions for urban greening, such as adaptive reuse of infrastructure, mindful of lessons from China. Following Curran and Hamilton (2012), we suggest that a primary challenge is to develop strategies that are ‘just green enough.’ That is, to reap the public health benefits of improved access to urban green space while avoiding the urban green space paradox.

2. Public health benefits of urban green space

Most research on urban green space and health has focused on parks, with studies also examining green cover (Bedimo-Rung, Mowen, & Cohen, 2005; Kuo, Sullivan, Coley, & Brunson, 1998). Lack of park access has been linked to mortality (Coutts, Horner, & Chapin, 2010). Green cover has also been shown to protect health (Villeneuve et al., 2012). Additionally, parks often serve as sites of physical activity, which is associated with enhanced health and reduced risk for all-cause mortality and many chronic dis- eases (Anon, 1996; Barton & Pretty, 2010; Bush et al., 2007; Casey et al., 2008; Grahn & Stigsdotter, 2010; Hartig, 2008; Kuo, 2001; Woodcock et al., 2009). Indeed, a large number of studies demon- strate linkages between park proximity and physical activity (for example, Brownson, Baker, Housemann, Brennan, & Bacak, 2001; Cohen et al., 2006, 2007; Diez Roux et al., 2007; Evenson, Wen, Hillier and Cohen, 2013; Gordon-Larsen, Nelson, Page, & Popkin, 2006; McCormack, Rock, Toohey, & Hignell, 2010; Sallis, Floyd, Rodriguez, & Saelens, 2012).

Particular attention has focused on parks and the obesity epi- demic (Ogden, Carroll & Flegal, 2008). Obesity can be detrimental to children’s health (Dietz, 1998), and increase the probability of adult obesity (Freedman, Mei, Srinivasan, Berenson & Dietz, 2007). While genetic factors probably contribute (Stunkard, 1991), rapid increases in obesity suggest that individual behavior patterns, including low levels of physical activity, appear to powerfully influ- ence obesity trends (Hill & Peters, 1998). Children with more access to parks and recreational facilities are more active than children with less access, and most results for adults are similar (Diez Roux et al., 2007; Timperio, Salmon, Telford & Crawford, 2005).

For example, Giles-Corti et al. (2005) outlined the importance of attractiveness and size of open space. A series of studies in Perth, Australia (Giles-Corti & Donovan, 2002; Giles-Corti, Macintyre, Clarkson, Pikora, & Donovan, 2003), using cross-sectional surveys and data on environmental facilities, found that parks were more likely to encourage physical activity if they were perceived as esthetically pleasing (minor traffic, sidewalks, trees, retail shops). Veitch, Ball, Crawford, Abbott, & Salmon (2012) studied park use as well as physical activity in Victoria, Australia, before/after improvements, finding significant increases in park use following improvements.

Curiously, public recreation has seldom been studied in regard to physical activity and obesity. Dahmann et al. (2010), however, in a cross-sectional study, audited recreation programs from southern California municipalities. Findings indicated that areas with higher population density, lower incomes, and a greater share of minority residents had inferior access to public recreational programming.

Recent studies show that both parks and recreational programs are important to the development of obesity. Wolch et al. (2011) controlled for a wide range of built environment factors—including the foodscape (Leal & Chaix, 2010), pollution exposure and traffic

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ensity (Jerrett et al., 2009), and social conditions, such as poverty, nemployment, and crime—to assess how proximity to parks and ecreational resources affects the development of childhood obe- ity. Park access and especially recreational program access were ignificantly related to the development of obesity.

In addition, psychological well-being is empirically linked to rban parks and green space (Ernstson, 2012). A park experience as been shown to reduce stress (Ulrich, 1981; Ulrich et al., 1991; oo et al., 2009), and green space can afford urban residents oppor-

unities to encounter plants and animals as well as opportunities o recuperate or experience solitude (Fuller, Irvine, Devine-Wright,

arren, & Gaston, 2007). Park visits can also rejuvenate residents, nhance contemplation, and provide a sense of peace and tranquil- ty (Kaplan and Kaplan, 2003; Song, Gee, Fan, & Takeuchi, 2007).

Physical activity in green space—or green exercise—is also mportant to mental health. Barton and Pretty (2010), for example, onducted a meta-analysis of UK studies, showing that there were ignificant impacts of green exercise on several measures of mood nd self-esteem. Another meta-analysis (Lee and Maheswaran, 011) found linkages between various measures of psychological ealth and urban green space (Maas et al., 2009; Ohta, Mizoue, ishima, & Ikeda, 2007). In a major Dutch study Van den Berg, Maas, erheij, & Groenewegen (2010) showed that respondents with ore green space near their homes were less affected by a stress-

ul life event than those with a low green space access, suggesting hat green space buffers stress. Also as a locus of social interaction rban parks can increase perceptions of safety and belonging (Kuo t al., 1998).

Louv (2005) contends that children who lack access to urban reen space suffer from a wide range of behavioral problems. uller et al. (2007) in Sheffield, England, found positive associations etween species richness and psychological well-being, and Faber- aylor, Kuo, and Sullivan (2001) found that children with attention eficit disorder who were active in green space had reduced symp- oms. More generally, several studies find that interaction with ature and animals is important to child development and well- eing (Kahn & Kellert, 2002).

While research has generally focused on the health benefits of arks and other green space, there may be health risks too. These

nclude air pollution exposure near parks and safety concerns in arks that are located in heavy traffic areas. Active transportation uch as walking and bicycling, by contrast, incorporates physi- al activity into daily routes, reduces obesity (Giles-Corti et al., 003; Wolch et al., 2010), and alleviates automobile congestion nd traffic-related air and noise pollution (Cavill & Davis, 2007). ow-income communities of color, however, already have relative igh rates of active transport (Houston, Wu, Ong, & Winer, 2004) nd may experience adverse health effects if strategies promot- ng active travel are poorly implemented (de Nazelle, Rodriguez

Crawford-Brown, 2009). For example, if planning interventions ncrease walking and cycling in polluted neighborhoods, with- ut commensurate efforts to reduce levels of air pollution, they isk also increasing low-income residents’ exposure to pollution.

study by Su, Jerrett, de Nazelle, and Wolch (2011) found that ark-adjacent neighborhoods in the Los Angeles region had higher ollution concentrations, especially in low income and minority ommunities.

. Environmental injustice in access to urban green space

Given the links between green space access and health, an

mportant question is whether access to urban green space—and its ealth promoting and/or protective effects—is distributed in ways hat disproportionately advantage or disadvantage people on the asis of race, ethnicity or class?

Planning 125 (2014) 234–244

Despite a growing literature, there is no consensus among scholars about how to measure green space access. Most stud- ies have used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to measure accessibility (Oh and Jeong, 2007; Sister et al., 2010; Talen, 1997). Metrics include presence vs. absence of a park or recreation facil- ity near the home, density of facilities, or total park acreage within a given radius of home (Mota et al., 2005; Norman et al., 2006; Roenmich et al., 2006; Zakarian, Hovel, Hofstetter, Sallis, & Keating, 1994).

Geographic access alone may not fully capture the impact of parks on physical activity or obesity. Usage may depend on park characteristics and programs offered. Simple GIS mea- sures can also fail to account for potential congestion of park space, which may deter use. For example, Sister et al. (2010) allocated all residents to their nearest park, creating “park service areas” that could be compared in terms of potential con- gestion, demographics, and socioeconomic characteristics. Park congestion was more acute in low-income and minority neighbor- hoods.

A challenge in access measurement is that green space is noto- riously heterogeneous. Parks differ in terms of size, quality, range of facilities, availability of organized recreation, or perceptions of safety among actual or potential users. They are designed to serve diverse communities and wide-ranging recreational needs. Parks also have reputations reflecting their use, repute, upkeep, and design quality (Byrne & Wolch, 2009). Such heterogeneity means compliance with uniform national standards for urban park space provision in the United States is difficult (Wilkinson, 1985). These standards may even negatively impact some urban residents, pre- scribing blanket solutions where locally specific interventions are needed.

Regardless of measurement strategy, there is abundant evi- dence of environmental injustice in the distribution of urban green space. A variety of other studies show that racial/ethnic minorities and low-income people have less access to green space, parks, or recreational programs than those who are White or more afflu- ent (Abercrombie et al., 2008; Dahmann et al., 2010; Jennings et al., 2012; Johnson-Gaither, 2011; Landry & Chakraborty, 2009; Leslie, Cerin, & Kremer, 2010; Sister et al., 2010; Wolch, Wilson, & Fehrenbach, 2005). In addition, studies of public and nonprofit funding for urban parks and recreation indicate this also follows race/class contours, with low-income communities of color having far less to spend on parks and recreation and having less non- profit resources as well (Joassart-Marcelli, 2010; Joassart-Marcelli, Wolch, & Salim, 2011).

Some studies have found more complex relationships between park access and race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status. Boone, Buckley, Grove, & Sister (2009), studying Baltimore, found that although Blacks were more likely than Whites to live within walk- ing distance of a park, Whites had access to more park acres. Consequently, there was more park congestion in the park service areas serving Blacks than in those serving Whites. Also, not all poor people or people of color live in inner cities; numerically, more poor people now live in suburbs (Kneebone & Berube, 2013). But the sub- urbanization of poverty is largely a result of increases in inner-ring suburban poverty due to deindustrialization, job loss, White flight, and inner city gentrification (Cooke, 2010). Such communities typi- cally lack fiscal capacity and thus may have poorly maintained parks and minimal recreation programs (Dahmann et al., 2010). In some metropolitan regions, densification of inner suburban areas due to crowding also means that there may be pressure on park space (Sister et al., 2010).

Environmental injustice also emerges from studies of why parks may go unused. Scholars have generally attributed park (non)use, to socio-cultural (e.g., poverty, cultural preferences) and socio-spatial determinants (e.g., travel distance, park features). One reason is that

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given park space may be perceived as unsafe or “belonging” to nother group in the community (Brownlow, 2006; Burgess, 1996; obster, 1998; Stodolska, Shinew, Acevedo, & Izenstark, 2011). yrne’s (2012) work involving focus groups with low-income Lati- os in Los Angeles illustrates how ethno-racial formations, histories f segregated park systems, and land-use regulation can circum- cribe park access and use.

Together, these findings document environmental injustice ssociated with access to urban green space, warranting interven- ion. The dimensions of such justice challenges will vary from place o place, but are apt to have long-term implications for health and ell-being.

We now turn to urban planning and landscape interventions eing tested in both US and Chinese cities to see how experiments

n one place can inform others. China is undergoing unprecedented ates of urbanization. Racially homogeneous, China has disparities n income and ethnic minority status that negatively affect health. hinese experiences with retrofitting urban green space can offer

mportant lessons to cities of the Global North.

. Approaches to retrofitting urban green space: examples rom Hangzhou, China

The scale of internal migration, urban growth, and impacts of rban transformation in China dwarf experiences elsewhere (Zhu, 012). Between 1980 and 2009 the urban population swelled by 31 million—more than the population of the United States. Accom- anying these trends is widespread environmental pollution (Gong t al., 2012) as well as more sedentary lifestyles and changing diets, nd rising prevalence obesity, diabetes and kidney disease (Gong t al., 2012).

Environmental justice is an emergent problem in China, with nvironmental impacts and well-being increasingly distributed by ncome and possibly by ethnicity (Quan, 2001; Smyth, Mishra,

Qian, 2008; Zeng and Gu, 2007). Pollution impacts, hazardous obs, and poor quality housing are disproportionately concentrated mong lower-income earners, many without permanent residency nder China’s hukou registration system and thus not entitled to ealth, education, and other benefits in the city (Ma, 2010). More- ver, citizen participation in decision-making is limited, as are venues for raising formal complaints about environmental pro- ection and management (Li, Liu, & Li, 2012); residents also fear hat complaints will bring reprisals or persecution (Brajer, Mead, & iao, 2010).

Access to green space is also an environmental justice issue in hina, due to historical patterns of urban development, high resi- ential densities, and explosive rates of urbanization. The Western

deal of the park is relatively new to China (Shi, 1998). During the arly twentieth century, public parks were created in Beijing and hanghai, but largely reserved for Europeans, wealthy merchants, nd dignitaries. Commoners were actively excluded (Bickers & asserstrom, 1995). Park-planning has lagged behind real estate development.

reen space standards are enshrined within Chinese planning odes, but are difficult to enforce. Limited research on green space ccess in China has been translated for English-language journals, ut those published reveal that ecological functions of green space re poorly understood, and demand for green space significantly utstrips supply. A recent study of Shanghai found that many res- dents lack access to parks, and that entire areas of the city have o formal green spaces (Yin and Xu, 2009b). While in the US the

ational median green space ratio is 50.18 m2 per capita, the aver- ge is just 6.52 m2 per capita in China (Trust for Public Land, 2011; ang, 2009), despite more generous planning standards (Yin and

u, 2009a).

Planning 125 (2014) 234–244 237

4.1. The example of Hangzhou

Hangzhou is the capital of Zhejiang Province, located approx- imately 200 km southeast of Shanghai (see Fig. 1). With about 6 million residents, it is one of China’s oldest cities (Altenburger & Chu, 2010). Rapid urbanization has consumed its agricultural hinterlands, and is profoundly impacting the city’s environmen- tal quality (Spiekermann et al., 2013). Most days are blanketed in air pollution (Meng et al., 2012). The city’s annual average tem- peratures are also the second-hottest in China, exacerbated by its impervious urban development (Shen, Chow, & Darkwa, 2013).

What sets Hangzhou apart from other Chinese cities, though, are its innovative efforts to address the declining environmental qual- ity by restoring lost green space (Qin-Tong, 2011; Wu, Zhao, Ren, Tian, & Shen, 2012). These efforts include the demolition of factories for parks, retrofitting green space alongside formerly dilapidated canals, underneath and alongside main roads and railway lines, and mass tree planting along city streets.

Hangzhou is recognized throughout China as a Garden City and renowned for its tree-lined streets, scenic West Lake National Park, and for the nation’s first urban wetland park—the XiXi Wetlands (about three times larger than New York’s Central Park). “Garden City” is an official designation in China, meaning that a city meets certain national standards for forest cover, amount of green space, and provision of parks—as determined through remote sensing. Since 1992, more than 600 cities have met these standards, but Hangzhou is exceptional (Wu, Ye, Qi, Zhang, 2012).

Due to its ambitious urban greening program, officially Hangzhou now has 166.5 km2 of green space (about 40% of the city area; Fig. 2). In 2012, urban green space increased by 14.4 million m2; in 2013, the target is for an additional 13 million m2. The offi- cial ratio of green space is about 15 m2 per capita, and over 90% of the city’s population reportedly has easy access (Sang Lijie et al., 2013). Large-scale reforestation has preserved and integrated his- toric sites such as the pagoda of the City God adjacent to Wushan Plaza into new green and open space precincts.

But official statistics belie the nature of green space in Hangzhou. Many parks are small and contain few facilities. They may be esthet- ically pleasing, but most are not suited to active recreation. Parks in Hangzhou generally fit Western description of ‘pleasure gardens’ (Chen, Bao, & Zhu, 2009), many elaborately landscaped for passive recreation only (Chen et al., 2009). Miao (2011) describes such parks as ‘window dressing’ which seldom allow active use. Many have extensive pavements to cope with high use volumes. Residential densities in the city’s core districts are between 16,000 and 19,000 persons per km2 (Spiekermann et al., 2013). Often, green space in these districts is located close to main roads, increasing users’ expo- sure to air pollution and making it difficult to escape traffic noise (Sun et al., 2013). And evidence suggests differences in access to green space associated with socio-demographic characteristics of the population (Lv et al., 2011).

Hangzhou’s ambitious urban greening hinges upon activating neglected spaces such as land adjacent to and underneath free- ways, alongside railway lines (see Fig. 3), along the banks of canals that transect the older urban core, and on former factory sites (Yang, Chang, Xu, Peng, & Ge, 2008). The goals are to reduce heat island impacts, lessen storm-water and flooding though evapora- tion, intercept pollutants, and reduce wind speed (Chen, Bao, & Zhu, 2006). Preliminary research suggests urban greening is paying div- idends, with temperature reductions of between 4◦ and 6◦ in some parts of the city (Wenting, Yi, & Hengyu, 2012).

However, although green space health benefits have not been

studied extensively for Hangzhou, some new urban greening efforts may be problematic. Parks alongside freeways and rail corridors may expose users to air pollutants. A study by Byrne (2013) revealed under-provision of active recreation space in

238 J.R. Wolch et al. / Landscape and Urban Planning 125 (2014) 234–244

of Ha S

i f o d n d l i 2

S

Fig. 1. Location ource: J. Byrne.

nner city districts in Hangzhou, with limited outdoor play spaces or children and teenagers. Existing inner city green space is ften congested; when temperatures are high, it is often shoul- er to shoulder in many of the city’s parks. Although many ew residential communities incorporate green courtyard gar-

ens, the overall amount of green space is very low. Some areas

ack access to urban green space—especially older areas await- ng redevelopment and peripheral communities (Sang Lijie et al., 013).

Fig. 2. Distribution of Green s ource: J. Byrne.

ngzhou, China.

In addition, new studies suggest that urban greening efforts may also be inflating property values (Chen, 2012), potentially leading to gentrification and thus displacing lower-income earners. Even the smallest green space embellishments may drive up property prices in the urban core, where densities are highest, parks are fewer, and

temperatures are the hottest.

Hangzhou may thus face park-related environmental justice problems. Yet efforts to create more green space may bring unwel- come consequences in the form of the green space paradox.

pace, Hangzhou, China.

J.R. Wolch et al. / Landscape and Urban Planning 125 (2014) 234–244 239

Fig. 3. Green space retrofits, Hangzhou, China. S

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ource: J. Byrne.

. Conclusion: the paradox of urban green space

This paper has highlighted the importance of urban green space or public health. Parks and open space and other forms of green pace can also provide essential services that are critical to both rban ecological functioning and integrity. Urban green space is lso an environmental justice issue, given that in many cities, low- ncome neighborhoods and communities of color—places where ublic health challenges tend to be the most critical—often have elatively poor access to safe and well-maintained parks and other ypes of open space.

The imperative to address such environmental injustices and elated public health disparities, as well as enhance urban ecolo- ies, has led planners to focus on both traditional parkland cquisition programs and innovative strategies for expanding reen space resources. In addition, community-based organiza- ions, often aided by environmental groups, are refocusing urban rownfield remediation projects on urban green space to address ublic health and environmental justice concerns (Barnett, 2001). hese strategies do not represent a re-orientation toward prob- ematic green-space types (e.g., parks beneath freeways), rather hey highlight possibilities for adaptive re-use of infrastructure, rovided that health standards are not compromised.

There is a range of possibilities opened up through the adap- ive use of obsolete or underused urban infrastructure, such as ail corridors, underutilized back alleys, urban streets, abandoned ransport or utility corridors, and remediated brownfields. Plan- ers in dozens of cities across the United States, for instance, are ransforming back alleys into green infrastructure for walking and iking, informal play and exercise, and social interaction, while ffering a distributed strategy for urban runoff infiltration and habi-

at provision (Fig. 4; Newell et al., 2013; Wolch et al., 2011). These reen spaces are unlikely to offer organized recreational activi- ies, but they can be equipped with micro-gyms shown to increase hysical activity and energy expenditures (Cohen et al., 2012).

Perhaps the most famous example of using obsolete infrastruc- ture is New York’s High Line (Fig. 5), now being replicated in many US cities as well as at least one Chinese city. The High Line was built on the remains of an abandoned elevated train line spur, originally designed to cut through blocks rather than follow the street, allow- ing freight to be easily delivered to factories and other businesses. Rendered obsolete by the 1980s, it was slated for demolition but rescued by local activists and redesigned as an aerial greenway. The High Line has become one of the most popular destinations in the city, attracting millions of people each year, along with a variety of birds, insects, and other small animals.

Yet like other urban sustainability approaches, such urban green space strategies may have paradoxical results (Krueger & Gibbs, 2007). If they are successful from the perspective of urban resi- dents and businesses, they may ultimately exclude those whose need for access is most acute. By simultaneously making older and typically low-income and/or industrial areas of existing cities more livable and attractive, urban greening projects can set off rounds of gentrification, dramatically altering housing opportunities and the commercial/retail infrastructure that supports lower income communities (Zukin et al., 2009). This paradoxical effect has been variously termed ecological gentrification (Dooling, 2009), green gentrification (Gould & Lewis, 2012), environmental gentrification (Checker, 2011) or eco-gentrification (Patrick, 2011).

This dynamic is not new, nor is it unique to western cities. Many major park projects of the past, including Central Park, were overtly designed to increase land values and open up development oppor- tunities (Cranz, 1982), and this pattern is shaping urban areas in China and other parts of Asia (He, 2007; Lim et al., 2013). But across locales, developers, planners, and urban environmental managers now harness the language of sustainability, green consumption,

and ecology to facilitate green space provision and gentrification (Quastel, 2009).

The same land market dynamics apply, even when projects are ecologically oriented or less grand (Brander & Koetse, 2011;

240 J.R. Wolch et al. / Landscape and Urban Planning 125 (2014) 234–244

lley Ne I

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Fig. 4. Proposed Avalon Green A mage: Trust for Public Land. From Newell et al. (2013).

onway, Li, Wolch, Kahle, & Jerrett, 2010; Heckert & Mennis, 2012; icholls & Crompton, 2005; Saphores and Li, 2012). Similarly, lthough hazardous waste cleanup can proceed without changes

n property values (Eckerd, 2011), brownfield redevelopment as reen space can raise property values, forcing poor residents out, nly to resettle in communities with worse environmental quality

Fig. 5. High Line, 20th St. Loo hoto: Beyond My Ken.

twork, South Los Angeles, 2012.

(Dale & Newman, 2009; De Sousa, Wu, & Westphal, 2009; Eckerd, 2011; Essoka, 2010; Pearsall, 2010). Poignantly, Dooling (2009) recounts efforts to improve ecological function along riparian zones

in Seattle, which were proceeded by removing homeless people who lived in these areas, along with the services designed to assist them. Privileging natural processes and ecological health, while

king Downtown, 2010.

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J.R. Wolch et al. / Landscape and

nvoking environment ethics, relegated social justice issues to the idelines.

Eco-gentrification can arise even when the primary motive in rban green space provision is addressing environmental injustices

n its distribution. For example, Checker’s (2011) analysis of park evelopment in Harlem found that efforts to address environmen- al justice issues linked to park availability stalled because residents ecognized that park development was primarily a strategy for real state development and gentrification. Thus environmental reme- iation in older neighborhoods, and the creation of new green paces can, as Curran and Hamilton (2012) point out, literally “nat- ralize” the disappearance of working-class communities, as such

mproved neighborhoods become targets for new and more upscale evelopment.

Perhaps the most widely recognized US example of this para- ox is the High Line. By linking the project to urban sustainability, dvocates enjoined a discourse of ecological modernization in the ervice of increasing property values (Patrick, 2011); indeed the ew York City Economic Development Corporation (2011) found

hat between 2003 and 2011, nearby property values had increased 03% despite the deep recession, and $2 billion had been invested in elated property development (Brisman, 2012; McGeehan, 2011). n Asia, a parallel example is the state-led restoration of the Cheong- yecheon Waterway in Seoul. This project, advocated on ecological rounds, has led to increases in property values and the conversion f industrial land uses to commercial uses serving more affluent takeholders (Lim et al., 2013).

How, then, can urban ecologists, planners, and designers address his green space paradox?

A promising approach is to design interventions that are ‘just reen enough’ (Curran & Hamilton, 2012). In their case study f Greenpoint, a community in Brooklyn, Curran and Hamilton ound that working-class residents and gentrifiers collaborated to emand environmental cleanup strategies that allowed for con- inued industrial uses and preservation of blue-collar work, and xplicitly avoided what they term the “parks, cafes, and a riverwalk” odel of a green city (p. 1028). The “just green enough” strategy

argeted toxic creek cleanup and green space development along he creek near the existing working-class population and indus- rial land users, to address both environmental and social justice, nd to avoid new rounds of speculative development. Similarly, earsall (2010) studied three New York neighborhoods, concluding hat environmental gentrification is multidimensional, context- pecific, and cross-scale; in certain local contexts, residents can ecome resilient, resist displacement, and remain in communi- ies whose environments have improved as a result of public and rivate investments.

The ‘just green enough’ strategy depends on the willingness of lanners and local stakeholders to design green space projects that re explicitly shaped by community concerns, needs, and desires ather than either conventional urban design formulae or eco- ogical restoration approaches. Replacing these market-driven or cological approaches with ‘just green enough’ strategies is espe- ially challenging, typically requiring community activism. Those fforts, however, can help protect lower income neighborhoods. For nstance, Newman (2011) found that local non-profits in Toronto ncouraged planners to move away from re-wilding approaches to estoration, in favor of emphasizing landscapes that can also serve s nodes for urban agriculture and community garden spaces. In his way, restoration projects are more connected to local concerns bout food security, job creation, and human health.

In addition, planners aiming for ‘just green enough’ solutions

an promote green space interventions that are small-scale and in cattered sites, rather than grander civic green space projects that eographically concentrate resources and kick-start rounds of gen- rification. Schauman and Salisbury (1998), for example, trace the

Planning 125 (2014) 234–244 241

history of urban reuse from focusing on very large, complex, and extremely degraded sites, such as abandoned mines or oil refiner- ies, to its present focus on weaving natural function into many small, underutilized sites. Refocusing on small-scale interventions, they argue, has the benefit of more evenly distributing access to nature for urban residents rather than creating a focal point for property development strategies.

Such bottom-up urban green space strategies can be supported by anti-gentrification policies. These include provision of affordable housing and housing trust funds. Also, rent stabilization programs can reduce absentee landlordism, while financial incentives for homeownership and shared equity housing projects can allow existing residents to have a stake in an improving neighborhood. Protections can also be offered to local businesses through require- ments for controls on rents, set-asides for local ownership and employment, and measures to maintain industrial uses (Jerzyk, 2009; Kennedy & Leonard, 2001; Pendall, Nelson, Dawkins & Knapp 2005).

Being ‘just green enough’ demands a careful balancing act. It involves collaborations between local government and disparate community groups, and a willingness of local stakeholders to con- test powerful real estate interests and mainstream environmental advocates. But the active involvement of urban planners, designers, and ecologists is also essential, to articulate strategies for urban green space that explicitly advance public health, environmental equity, and social justice in urban communities.

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Jennifer Wolch is William W. Wurster Dean and Professor of City and Regional Plan- ning at UC Berkeley, where her research focuses on urban design, physical activity, and public health in the context of sustainable urban planning.

Jason Byrne is Senior Lecturer in the School of the Environment at Griffith Univer- sity. His research focuses on urban parks, environmental justice, urban resilience,

and climate change adaptation.

Joshua Newell is Assistant Professor of Natural Resources at the University of Michi- gan. He conducts research on urban ecology and planning, green infrastructure, life-cycle analysis and urban metabolism.