Improved human greenspace exposure equality during 21^st century urbanization

Area of Science:

• Urban Ecology
• Environmental Science
• Sustainable Development

Background:

• Greenspace is vital for urban ecosystems and sustainable city development.
• Concerns exist regarding unequal access to urban greenspace.
• The long-term impact of urbanization on greenspace exposure and inequality is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify changes in human exposure to greenspace and associated inequality in 1028 global cities from 2000 to 2018.
• To assess the influence of urbanization on greenspace exposure and inequality over time.
• To compare the reduction rates of greenspace exposure inequality between Global North and Global South cities.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Landsat-based 30-meter time-series greenspace mapping.
• Employed a population-weighted exposure framework.
• Analyzed data for 1028 cities worldwide between 2000 and 2018.

Main Results:

• Observed a significant increase in physical greenspace coverage globally.
• Found an overall improvement in human exposure to urban greenspace.
• Demonstrated a reduction in greenspace exposure inequality over the study period.
• Noted a faster rate of inequality reduction in Global South cities compared to Global North cities (nearly four times faster).

Conclusions:

• Urbanization has led to increased greenspace and reduced exposure inequality globally.
• Significant disparities persist in the rate of greenspace exposure inequality reduction between Global North and Global South cities.
• Findings offer insights for targeted urban greening strategies to address environmental inequality.