Inequality and allergenic cover of urban greenspaces surrounding public elementary schools in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

Inequality in the spatial distribution of urban greenspaces occurs globally, with greater greenspaces in neighbourhoods with higher socioeconomic status. This is problematic, as greenspaces provide numerous ecosystem services, including benefits to human health. However, greenspaces can also trigger allergenic responses, inducing negative economic, medical, and social costs. Using geospatial information, we investigated 91 elementary schools in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to answer: (1) Does the amount and type of greenspaces and greyspaces surrounding schools vary with median household income? and (2) Does the surface area of allergenic greenspace surrounding schools vary with median household income? We characterized landcover within a 300 m radius of public elementary schools using a high spatial resolution urban landcover map of Vancouver derived from a combination of RapidEye imagery from 2014 and airborne laser scanning. Beta regression and analysis of variance models were used to explore associations between household incomes and greenspaces, as well as allergenic vegetation near schools. Schools in areas with higher median annual household incomes (>$80,000 CAD) were surrounded by an average of 14% more greenspaces and 16% less greyspaces than schools located in areas with lower household incomes (<$50,000 CAD). Schools in higher income areas were also surrounded by an average of 81% more cover of allergenic vegetation than schools in lower income areas. Greenspaces are a valuable source of ecosystem services for urban residents and should be distributed equally to optimize their benefits; however, they must be planned carefully to avoid the introduction of disservices from allergenic vegetation.

Keywords

• marta berbés-blázques