April 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 35

SOCIAL EQUITY

Evaluating Park Access and Equity to Promote
Physical Activity and Public Health
By Andrew Kaczynski, Ph.D., and Morgan Hughey, MPH

P

arks are vital resources in communities for promoting physical, social,
psychological and environmental health. They provide places for children to play, adults to recharge, and neighbors to meet and connect.
However, in communities across the United States and other countries around
the world, not all neighborhoods have equal access to parks, and not all neighborhood parks are created equal.
Guided by an environmental justice philosophy, researchers and professionals in parks and recreation,
public health and related fields have
sought to explore such issues in order
to identify and eliminate so-called
" park deserts. " Environmental justice, broadly speaking, refers to the
idea that no group should bear a disproportionate burden of the causes
(e.g., lack of parks) or consequences (e.g., obesity) of environmental
health issues. In many urban areas

across the U.S., persons from lower
income and racial minority backgrounds often exhibit poorer health
behaviors (e.g., physical activity) and
outcomes (e.g., diabetes). Numerous factors potentially contribute to
health concerns among low-income
and minority residents, including
lower education levels, less disposable income, and stress and fear associated with racism and poverty.
However, another significant
cause may be disparities in access

to environmental resources that facilitate physical activity. Just like
garbage dumps or polluting factories, this too is an environmental
justice issue known as " deprivation
amplification " - where those with
fewer personal resources that might
support physical activity (e.g., income, knowledge) also tend to reside in areas that are more deprived
of neighborhood physical activity
resources (e.g., sidewalks, parks).
Indeed, while not always the case,
studies from places as diverse as the
U.S., Australia, Brazil, Scotland,
Canada and Iran have supported
the idea that inequalities in park
access often exist alongside various
sociodemographic indicators. Given
the importance of parks to physical

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April 2014 - Parks & Recreation

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