Abstract
Urban parks and green spaces have the potential to provide outstanding benefits to both children and adults. However, increased urbanization and the disproportionate placement of urban parks and green spaces can make these benefits elusive. Case studies focused on Los Angeles, Denver, and Chicago have found that access to urban parks and green spaces is more challenging for non-white and low-socioeconomic status populations. The present study, focused on the much smaller, much less populated city of Harrisonburg, Virginia, builds on this work using geographic information system (GIS) buffer analysis to find that all socioeconomic groups face access issues to some degree. To address the problem, the study proposes increased efficiency of public transportation and increased environmental education through school gardening programs.
Recommended Citation
Holmes, V. (2019). Jungle gyms of justice: Understanding the urban park accessibility problem. James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal, 6(1), 80-88. Retrieved from http://commons.lib.jmu.edu/jmurj/vol6/iss1/8
