Green Space and Health Equity: A Systematic Review on the Potential of Green Space to Reduce Health Disparities

Alessandro Rigolon, Matthew H. E. M. Browning, Olivia McAnirlin and Hyunseo (Violet) Yoon
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Alessandro Rigolon: Department of City and Metropolitan Planning, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
Matthew H. E. M. Browning: Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
Olivia McAnirlin: Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
Hyunseo (Violet) Yoon: Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 5, 1-27

Abstract: Disadvantaged groups worldwide, such as low-income and racially/ethnically minoritized people, experience worse health outcomes than more privileged groups, including wealthier and white people. Such health disparities are a major public health issue in several countries around the world. In this systematic review, we examine whether green space shows stronger associations with physical health for disadvantaged groups than for privileged groups. We hypothesize that disadvantaged groups have stronger protective effects from green space because of their greater dependency on proximate green space, as they tend to lack access to other health-promoting resources. We use the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) method and search five databases (CINAHL, Cochrane, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) to look for articles that examine whether socioeconomic status (SES) or race/ethnicity modify the green space-health associations. Based on this search, we identify 90 articles meeting our inclusion criteria. We find lower-SES people show more beneficial effects than affluent people, particularly when concerning public green spaces/parks rather than green land covers/greenness. Studies in Europe show stronger protective effects for lower-SES people versus higher-SES people than do studies in North America. We find no notable differences in the protective effects of green space between racial/ethnic groups. Collectively, these results suggest green space might be a tool to advance health equity and provide ways forward for urban planners, parks managers, and public health professionals to address health disparities.

Keywords: atopic disease; birth outcomes; cardiovascular disease; diabetes; green infrastructure; mortality; normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI); obesity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (22)

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