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Exploring green gentrification in 28 global North cities : the role of urban parks and other types of greenspaces

Triguero-Mas, Margarita ; Anguelovski, Isabelle ; Connolly, James J.T. ; Martin, Nick ; Matheney, Austin ; Cole, Helen V.S. ; Pérez-Del-Pulgar, Carmen ; García-Lamarca, Melissa LU orcid ; Shokry, Galia and Argüelles, Lucía , et al. (2022) In Environmental Research Letters 17(10).
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... (More)

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.

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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
environmental justice, gentrification, green infrastructure, greenspace, nature-based solutions
in
Environmental Research Letters
volume
17
issue
10
article number
104035
publisher
IOP Publishing
external identifiers
  • scopus:85139559682
ISSN
1748-9318
DOI
10.1088/1748-9326/ac9325
language
English
LU publication?
no
additional info
Funding Information: The research presented in this paper received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program [grant agreement No. 678034], the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation [Maria de Maeztu, CEX2019-000940-M) and the Research Council VUB [SRP 16 Demographic challenges of the 21st century] but the sponsors had no role in the design or analysis of this study. MGL and LA are funded by Juan de la Cierva fellowships [IJC2020-046064-I, and IJC2020-045101-I] awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. HVSC is supported by the Banco Santander-UAB fellowship program. DC would like to thank the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación—Agencia Estatal de Investigación for grant PID2019-106341GB-I00 (jointly financed by the European Regional Development Fund, FEDER). BS was supported by Margarita Salas fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Universities-University of Valencia (MS21-013). JM-M would like to thank the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities for PID2020-115882RB-I00 grant. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd.
id
14e07b86-8b3b-4bec-83ea-9de7265023df
date added to LUP
2024-02-06 14:02:32
date last changed
2024-02-08 14:26:06
@article{14e07b86-8b3b-4bec-83ea-9de7265023df,
  abstract     = {{<p>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.</p>}},
  author       = {{Triguero-Mas, Margarita and Anguelovski, Isabelle and Connolly, James J.T. and Martin, Nick and Matheney, Austin and Cole, Helen V.S. and Pérez-Del-Pulgar, Carmen and García-Lamarca, Melissa and Shokry, Galia and Argüelles, Lucía and Conesa, David and Gallez, Elsa and Sarzo, Blanca and Beltrán, Miguel Angel and López Máñez, Jesúa and Martínez-Minaya, Joaquín and Oscilowicz, Emilia and Arcaya, Mariana C. and Baró, Francesc}},
  issn         = {{1748-9318}},
  keywords     = {{environmental justice; gentrification; green infrastructure; greenspace; nature-based solutions}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{10}},
  number       = {{10}},
  publisher    = {{IOP Publishing}},
  series       = {{Environmental Research Letters}},
  title        = {{Exploring green gentrification in 28 global North cities : the role of urban parks and other types of greenspaces}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac9325}},
  doi          = {{10.1088/1748-9326/ac9325}},
  volume       = {{17}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}