Green space access and visitation disparities in the phoenix metropolitan area

Previous green space equity studies have relied on access measures, such as the distance to, number of, or size of green spaces and have produced mixed results on green space disparities in the U.S. While the benefits of green spaces can be fulfilled when people visit them, attention to the differential use of green spaces has been less common. We examined green space inequalities using traditional access measures in order to understand which group has lower access to local parks and then investigated which urban residents visit local parks more using SafeGraph’s mobility data. We found that the Phoenix metro area experiences green space access disparities by age group and (partially) income rather than by race and ethnicity. Access to local parks consistently decreased as the percentage of the elderly population increased in a neighborhood. However, the visit to local parks consistently increased as the percentage of children and the elderly increased. We discuss the implications of our findings for urban planning.