Environmental Justice in the Context of Access to Urban Green Spaces for Refugee Children

Siqi Chen () and Martin Knöll ()
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Siqi Chen: Department of Architecture, School of Urban Construction & Safety Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, No. 100 Haiquan Road, Fengxian District, Shanghai 201418, China
Martin Knöll: Urban Design and Planning (UDP), Department of Architecture, Technical University of Darmstadt, El-Lissitzky-Str. 1, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-19

Abstract: Accessible and high-quality urban green space (UGS) can provide significant benefits to refugee children for their development, health, and well-being. However, few studies have examined the actual accessibility of UGS from refugee children’s perspectives (i.e., with restricted walking radius, particular vulnerability towards barriers such as traffic infrastructures and disconnected road forms) and related them with other environmental or social burdens under the context of environmental justice. It is necessary to explore related evidence and investigate the underlying causes since refugee facilities are primarily located in areas with restricted social and environmental resources strongly related to attributes of environmental justice. This paper investigated (1) availability, accessibility, and attractiveness of UGS in 30 refugee accommodation locations in Berlin using GIS and Space Syntax, (2) environmental burdens using the Berlin Atlas of Environmental Justice, and (3) neighbourhood characteristics. Findings indicate that 63% of refugee accommodations have availability of green space that is above average official standards, but from refugee children’s perspectives, 60% of the locations have limited access to UGS, lower attractive green spaces, and most locations face multi-environmental burdens. Currently, little guidance focuses on ensuring equal access to and the usability of UGS for specific socioeconomic and demographic groups, such as refugee children. Therefore, this paper has contributed empirical materials to begin such research and develop inclusive decision-making strategies in environmental and health policy to ensure the provision and high quality of UGS for refugee children who need it.

Keywords: migrants; urban green space; built environment; urban health; environmental equality; accessibility; environmental burden; meso-environment; children-oriented; green space supply (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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