11. Access to Urban Greenspace: a preliminary analysis of the Hispanic population’s accessibility to urban greenspace in Hall County, Georgia

Abstract

Research question: Does the Hispanic population in Gainesville, Georgia have the same access to urban greenspace as other ethnicities?

Purpose of study: The field of Environmental Justice examines the equal treatment and involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies (EPA). The study of Environmental justice became popular in the 1980s, when communities of color began to speak out about the inequalities that they were being disproportionately burdened with. This disproportionate burdening is still existent today and is caused by factors such as prejudiced siting, misguided regulatory policy and unequal political power. Currently, the city of Gainesville-Hall County has the most protected green space (parks, recreation areas and privately owned open land) of any urban county in the state of Georgia. Thus, the following questions arise: who has access to these areas, and is their conservation valued more than equitable access to them? Given the current lack of data on this topic for the city of Gainesville, this study is aimed to highlight gap areas where community access to greenspace should be improved.

Methods: GIS will be used to map and analyze the existing greenspace in Gainesville-Hall County, and to determine urban greenspace accessibility for different ethnic groups.

Expected results: The spatial distribution of access to greenspace in Gainesville, Georgia is uneven among different ethnic groups.