scholarly journals Access to Urban Green Space in Cities of the Global South: A Systematic Literature Review

Urban Science ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Rigolon ◽  
Matthew Browning ◽  
Kangjae Lee ◽  
Seunguk Shin

This review examines disparities in access to urban green space (UGS) based on socioeconomic status (SES) and race-ethnicity in Global South cities. It was motivated by documented human health and ecosystem services benefits of UGS in Global South countries and UGS planning barriers in rapidly urbanizing cities. Additionally, another review of Global North UGS studies uncovered that high-SES and White people have access to a higher quantity of higher quality UGSs than low-SES and racial-ethnic minority people but that no clear differences exist regarding who lives closer to UGS. Thus, we conducted a systematic review to uncover (1) whether UGS inequities in Global North cities are evident in Global South cities and (2) whether inequities in the Global South vary between continents. Through the PRISMA approach and five inclusion criteria, we identified 46 peer-reviewed articles that measured SES or racial-ethnic disparities in access to UGS in Global South cities. We found inequities for UGS quantity (high-SES people are advantaged in 85% of cases) and UGS proximity (74% of cases). Inequities were less consistent for UGS quality (65% of cases). We also found that UGS inequities were consistent across African, Asian, and Latin American cities. These findings suggest that Global South cities experience similar inequities in UGS quantity and quality as Global North cities, but that the former also face inequities in UGS proximity.

Author(s):  
S.M. Labib ◽  
Faysal Kabir Shuvo ◽  
Matthew H. E. M. Browning ◽  
Alessandro Rigolon

Urban green space use is often associated with improved physical and mental health and lower noncommunicable disease (NCDs) burdens. Factors that influence green space visits have been documented in cities of the Global North, but evidence of urban green space use patterns for cities in the Global South is scarce. The aim of this study is to investigate factors influencing urban green space use patterns in Dhaka, Bangladesh, a megacity of the Global South, with a particular focus on how poor health condition and healthcare professionals’ prescriptions to exercise outdoors (park prescriptions—ParkRx) impact the green space use of middle-aged adults. We collected green space characteristics and use factors (i.e., availability, accessibility, attractiveness, and attachment), health condition, ParkRx, and urban green space use intensity (i.e., frequency and duration) via a self-reported questionnaire from 169 middle-aged residents of Dhaka. We used multivariate modeling to estimate the association of green space characteristics, health condition, and ParkRx with use intensity. We further applied a mediation analysis to determine the influence of ParkRx on the relationship between residents’ poor health conditions and use intensity. We found that green space availability and accessibility did not significantly influence use intensity, but attractiveness was negatively associated with use intensity. Green space use intensity was significantly and positively associated with attachment to the green space, poor health condition (i.e., having noncommunicable diseases), and ParkRx. ParkRx significantly mediated the relationship between health condition and use intensity. We observed limited supply, poor access, and low attractiveness when studying the urban green spaces in Dhaka, but these qualities did not affect use intensity, as found in many case studies in the Global North. In contrast, urban green space use intensity in our case study is mostly dependent on poor health condition and park prescriptions.


Forests ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ursula Loret de Mola ◽  
Brenton Ladd ◽  
Sandra Duarte ◽  
Nils Borchard ◽  
Ruy Anaya La Rosa ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Betancur

This paper offers a critical review and interpretation of gentrification in Latin American cities. Applying a flexible methodology, it examines enabling conditions associated with societal regime change and local contingencies to determine its presence, nature, extent, and possibilities. Questioning the uncritical transfer of constructs such as gentrification from the Global North to the Global South, the paper advocates analyses of mediating structures and local conditions to determine their applicability and possible variations. Overall, the review questions the feasibility of self-sustained, large scale gentrification in central areas of the region’s cities today tying it to each city’s level of incorporation into global circuits and the role of local governments. Rather than an orthodox hypothesis testing, this is an exercise in interpretation that calls for nuanced approaches to the study of urban restructuring in cities of the global South.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 813
Author(s):  
Hui Dang ◽  
Jing Li ◽  
Yumeng Zhang ◽  
Zixiang Zhou

Urban green spaces can provide many types of ecosystem services for residents. An imbalance in the pattern of green spaces leads to an inequality of the benefits of such spaces. Given the current situation of environmental problems and the basic geographical conditions of Xi’an City, this study evaluated and mapped four kinds of ecosystem services from the perspective of equity: biodiversity, carbon sequestration, air purification, and climate regulation. Regionalization with dynamically constrained agglomerative clustering and partitioning (REDCAP) was used to obtain the partition groups of ecosystem services. The results indicate that first, the complexity of the urban green space community is low, and the level of biodiversity needs to be improved. The dry deposition flux of particulate matter (PM2.5) decreases from north to south, and green spaces enhance the adsorption of PM2.5. Carbon sequestration in the south and east is higher than that in the north and west, respectively. The average surface temperature in green spaces is lower than that in other urban areas. Second, urban green space resources in the study area are unevenly distributed. Therefore, ecosystem services in different areas are inequitable. Finally, based on the regionalization of integrated ecosystem services, an ecosystem services cluster was developed. This included 913 grid spaces, 12 partitions, and 5 clusters, which can provide a reference for distinct levels of ecosystem services management. This can assist urban managers who can use these indicators of ecosystem service levels for planning and guiding the overall development pattern of green spaces. The benefits would be a maximization of the ecological functions of green spaces, an improvement of the sustainable development of the city, and an improvement of people’s well-being.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konrad Uebel ◽  
Melissa Marselle ◽  
Angela J. Dean ◽  
Jonathan R. Rhodes ◽  
Aletta Bonn

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 341
Author(s):  
Ralf-Uwe Syrbe ◽  
Ina Neumann ◽  
Karsten Grunewald ◽  
Patrycia Brzoska ◽  
Jiři Louda ◽  
...  

The quality of life in our cities critically depends on the intelligent planning and shaping of urban living space, in particular urban nature. By providing a wide range of ecosystem services (ES), urban nature essentially contributes to the well-being of city dwellers and plays a major role in avoiding common diseases through its positive impact on physical and mental health. Health is one of the most important factors underlying human welfare and is, thus, vital to sustainable development. The ES of urban green space provide other social-cultural functions alongside public health, for example by fostering environmental justice and citizenship participation. Thus, they should always be considered when searching for solutions to urban problems. The aim of this research was to determine the impact of green areas in three selected cities on the health and well-being of people by self-reporting of green areas’ visitors. To this end, we posed the research question: which types and characteristics of urban green space are most appreciated by city dwellers? Based on our findings, we have drawn up recommendations for practices to promote better living conditions. We have also pinpointed obstacles to and opportunities for leisure time activities as well as ways of supporting the public health of citizens.


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