Communities of color in the US must make do with smaller, more overcrowded public parks compared with white Americans, as the country struggles to cope with record-breaking heatwaves and Covid-19 restrictions on swimming pools, beaches and communal cooling centres. Public parks in majority black and brown neighborhoods are half the size and almost five times as crowded, according to new research by the Trust for Public Land. Spending time in green spaces reduces stress and improves physical and psychological wellbeing for adults and children, but shady spots can also protect people from deadly extreme heat. In addition, the study of 14,000 towns and cities around America found that parks serving majority low-income households are on average four times smaller and four times more crowded than parks that serve mostly high-income households. The findings support a mounting body of evidence linking environmental injustice to longstanding racial and income inequalities that are being further exacerbated by the climate crisis. Extreme heat is among the deadliest weather hazards humanity faces due to the climate crisis, which contributes to more than 5,000 prematures deaths in the US every year. Counties with large black and brown populations already endure significantly more dangerously hot days than white communities, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. This year is on track to be at least the second hottest on record, but access to cool places which mitigate the impact of extreme heat such as beaches, pools and malls are restricted in many parts of the country due to the pandemic. The Covid-19 crisis has shone a light on years of patchy investment which has left 100 million Americans – including 27 million children – without access to a park close to home.


All data is taken from the source: https://www.theguardian.com/
Article Link: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/05/us-parks-minority-neighborhoods-smaller-more-crowded


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