Urban Forestry & Urban Greening has published our new comparative study on the socio-spatial drivers of urban green space (UGS) inequality in New York City and London. We integrate multiscale spatial modeling (OLS, GWR, MGWR) with high-resolution census and land use data to uncover how income level, race, education, and built environment shape green accessibility across neighborhoods. The study uncovers striking spatial heterogeneity between the two cities. It further identifies sharp contrasts shaped by policy decisions. Together, these patterns demonstrate how planning histories and institutional frameworks influence environmental justice outcomes.
Nature AI Lab
2025-07-28
We are glad to share our new paper:
We are glad to share our new paper: Yequan HU, Mingze CHEN, Yuxuan CAI (2025). Comparative analysis of greenery inequalities in new york and London: Social-conomic and spatial dimensions. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 112, 128939. | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128939
📢 Background :
With rapid urbanization, the reduction of Urban Green Space (UGS) has adversely affected residents’ quality of life and environmental justice. While existing studies largely focus on single city or single country, they rarely conduct comparative analyses across nations. This lack of cross-national perspective limits the understanding of how socio-economic, demographic, and spatial factors impact green space equity differently under distinct political, historical, and planning systems. For example, in New York, UGS distribution reflects legacies of neoliberal urban development and historical segregation policies such as redlining. In contrast, London, which has been molded by stronger government planning and Green Belt initiatives, has distinct patterns of green space accessibility.
🔍 Research Objectives and Question :
This study addresses a key gap in comparative UGS inequality research. It examines and compares the socio-spatial distribution of UGS in New York City and London, representing global urban contexts in the US and the UK. The research is driven by two main questions:
(1) What associations exist between social, economic, and demographic factors and the distribution of UGS, and how do these relationships exhibit spatial heterogeneity within urban areas?
(2) How do these relationships and spatial heterogeneity between factors and UGS vary between New York City and London as case studies of urban centers in the US and UK?
🔍 Key Highlights:
Multimethod Analysis: The study integrates OLS (Ordinary Least Squares), GWR (Geographically Weighted Regression), and MGWR (Multiscale GWR) models to analyze spatial patterns of UGS inequality at both global and local scales.
Spatial Inequality Patterns: Inequities in UGS access are concentrated in urban peripheries and economically disadvantaged areas in both cities, although with different spatial structures.
Cross-City Differences: In New York, economic and racial segregation leads to reduced green access for low-income and minority communities. In London, disadvantaged populations (e.g., low education) may still have higher UGS accessibility in central areas due to historical green planning.
Model Performance: MGWR outperforms both OLS and GWR, achieving Adjusted R² of 0.977 (New York) and 0.947 (London). MGWR reveals how influencing factors operate at different spatial scales, such as localized inequalities in minority communities and broader impacts of land use.