Using anonymized mobility data to reduce inequality in the availability and use of urban parks

Alessandro Filazzola; Garland Xie; Katie Birchard; Namrata Shrestha; Danny Brown; J. Scott MacIvor

doi:10.1002/pan3.10623

journal article Open Access Mar 19, 2024

Using anonymized mobility data to reduce inequality in the availability and use of urban parks

Alessandro Filazzola

Garland Xie

Katie Birchard Namrata Shrestha Danny Brown J. Scott MacIvor

People and Nature Vol. 6 No. 3 pp. 1143-1154 · Wiley

View at Publisher Save 10.1002/pan3.10623

Abstract

Abstract

Parks are an integral component of cities. Ensuring city residents have equitable and easy access to parks is crucial for human well‐being. In temperate climates, park accessibility is particularly important in the summer months when these green spaces provide an area to recreate, exercise and escape indoor temperatures and heat emanating from paved and built surfaces. However, there are well‐known disparities in park accessibility in cities globally that may threaten the health of city residents, especially with global warming.

We examined some of the largest city parks (>50 ha) in Toronto, Canada, by comparing park activity, housing demographics and daily weather patterns.

We found that parks that provided more green space area per resident were situated in neighbourhoods that had higher proportions of single‐detached housing, higher automobile use and fewer multistorey apartments. We also found a strong correlation between park activity with population density and the number of amenities in the park. Surprisingly, we found no relationship between park activity and daily weather patterns, although park use was higher on weekends and holidays. These results suggest denser communities are at a disadvantage because they have proportionately less park area within walking distance in addition to having no private green spaces (e.g. backyards).

We recommend revising municipal zoning around certain parks and the creation of new green spaces as methods to balance park provisioning in the city. Our findings suggest that designing and maintaining accessible, amenity‐rich parks is an important strategy for promoting health and well‐being in urban populations.

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Topics

No keywords indexed for this article. Browse by subject →

References

70

[1]

10.1016/j.amepre.2007.09.030

[2]

10.1038/s41467‐022‐31572‐1

[3]

Benfield A.(2021).Global catastrophe recap September 2021.

[4]

10.5334/bc.125

[5]

10.1016/s0921‐8009(99)00013‐0

[6]

10.1016/j.landurbplan.2013.09.006

[7]

10.1177/0042098013505887

[8]

10.1068/a37437

[9]

10.1007/s10393‐014‐0952‐9

[10]

10.1016/j.landurbplan.2006.09.005

[11]

10.1016/j.scs.2018.01.019

[12]

10.1016/j.ypmed.2009.08.020

[13]

10.3390/ijerph120809768

[14]

10.1016/s0169‐2046(02)00149‐4

[15]

10.1080/026654300407463

[16]

10.1016/j.landurbplan.2007.01.020

[17]

10.1207/s15324796abm2502_05

[18]

10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010725

[19]

10.1007/s11676‐020‐01249‐w

[20]

10.1016/j.amepre.2004.10.018

[21]

Gough W. A. Anderson V. &Herod K.(2016).Ontario climate change and health modelling study: Report.

[22]

Utilising green and bluespace to mitigate urban heat island intensity

K.R. Gunawardena, M.J. Wells, T. Kershaw

Science of The Total Environment 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.01.158

[23]

Guo Y. (2022)

[24]

10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2018.01.007

[25]

10.1016/j.amepre.2017.10.025

[26]

10.1007/s00484‐016‐1154‐7

[27]

10.1016/j.rse.2009.10.008

[28]

10.1016/s0140-6736(22)02585-5

[29]

10.1080/01490400701394865

[30]

10.1016/j.puhe.2008.08.005

[31]

10.1016/j.resconrec.2011.06.004

[32]

Balancing conflicting mitigation and adaptation behaviours of urban residents under climate change and the urban heat island effect

Kayoko Kondo, Leslie Mabon, Yifan Bi et al.

Sustainable Cities and Society 10.1016/j.scs.2020.102585

[33]

Urban Green Space and Its Impact on Human Health

Michelle Kondo, Jaime Fluehr, Thomas McKeon et al.

International Journal of Environmental Research an... 10.3390/ijerph15030445

[34]

Climate change and poverty: vulnerability, impacts, and alleviation strategies

Robin Leichenko, Julie A. Silva

WIREs Climate Change 10.1002/wcc.287

[35]

10.1093/biosci/bix079

[36]

10.1016/j.aogh.2015.08.008

[37]

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134896

[38]

10.1136/jech.2005.043125

[39]

10.1080/01944363.2019.1651216

[40]

10.1177/0047287514522880

[41]

10.1016/j.envres.2017.10.023

[42]

10.1080/01490400590912088

[43]

10.1097/ee9.0000000000000005

[44]

10.1038/s41893‐018‐0192‐z

[45]

10.1080/08111146.2015.1078233

[46]

10.1016/j.ufug.2012.11.003

[47]

10.1016/j.ufug.2022.127522

[48]

ParksForestryandRecreation. (2019).Parkland strategy: Growing Toronto Parkland. Retrieved fromhttps://www.toronto.ca/wp‐content/uploads/2019/11/97fb‐parkland‐strategy‐full‐report‐final.pdf

[49]

10.1016/j.landurbplan.2014.02.002

[50]

10.1016/j.landurbplan.2016.05.017

Showing 50 of 70 references

Metrics

4

Citations

70

References

Details

Published: Mar 19, 2024
Vol/Issue: 6(3)
Pages: 1143-1154
License: View

Authors

A

Alessandro Filazzola

Apex Resource Management Solutions Ottawa Ontario Canada; Department of Biology Western University London Ontario Canada

G

Garland Xie

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Toronto Toronto Ontario Canada; Department of Biological Sciences University of Toronto Scarborough Toronto Ontario Canada

K

Katie Birchard

Apex Resource Management Solutions Ottawa Ontario Canada

N

Namrata Shrestha

Toronto and Region Conservation Authority Concord Ontario Canada; School of the Environment University of Toronto Ontario Canada

D

Danny Brown

Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division Toronto Ontario Canada

J

J. Scott MacIvor

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Toronto Toronto Ontario Canada; Department of Biological Sciences University of Toronto Scarborough Toronto Ontario Canada

Cite This Article

Alessandro Filazzola, Garland Xie, Katie Birchard, et al. (2024). Using anonymized mobility data to reduce inequality in the availability and use of urban parks. People and Nature, 6(3), 1143-1154. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10623

Using anonymized mobility data to reduce inequality in the availability and use of urban parks

You May Also Like