Full Citation
Title: Equitable Greenspace Access and Neighborhood Gentrification in San Francisco, CA
Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis
Publication Year: 2017
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Abstract: Due to health and wellness benefits associated with city dwellers’ proximity to parks and urban greenspace (UGS), equitable access to these spaces can be considered an environmental justice concern. However, in attempting to address the greenspace inequities that often exist within cities, planners may inadvertently contribute to processes of gentrification and the displacement of current residents by encouraging real estate speculation. Using San Francisco as a model, this thesis explores UGS distributions and assesses their relationships with socioeconomic demographics and gentrification. It also considers a set of investment strategies that may help to avoid gentrification and displacement. The identification of several forms of economic, educational, and agegroup disparity in residents’ access to UGS in San Francisco were among the key findings. Racial-ethnic minority groups in San Francisco experienced greater than average greenspace access. Gentrified neighborhoods were also positively correlated with greater access, supporting the idea that greenspace investments might contribute to real estate speculation and so-called “green gentrification”. The results of this thesis’s analyses did not support the strategy of favoring smaller, more distributed UGS installations as a method of avoiding gentrification and displacement in San Francisco. This thesis expands upon the existing greenspace equity literature by incorporating into its definition of UGS several innovative forms of green infrastructure that have not been well-studied in the past.
Url: http://archives.evergreen.edu/masterstheses/Accession86-10MES/Carroll_TMESthesis2017.pdf
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Authors: Carroll, Terence
Institution: The Evergreen State College
Department: Environmental Studies
Advisor: John Withey
Degree: Master of Environmental Studies
Publisher Location: Olympia, WA
Pages: 96
Data Collections: IPUMS NHGIS
Topics: Land Use/Urban Organization, Race and Ethnicity
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