Environmental Equality in Neighborhood Amenities and Planning: A Houston,Texas,Case Study

Abstract

Abstract

The present study argues for a fuller understanding of environmentally just urban planning in the context of disproportionate (in)access to “positive” environmental features as well as the preferences and perceptions local affected populations have of these environmental amenities. Because perceptions of environmental amenities influence how these resources are used and because black and Latino communities have been disproportionately excluded from the benefits of urban infrastructure development, we argue that the perceptions of these groups should be prioritized as part of an inclusive and effective amenity planning process. To unpack perceptions of environmental amenities and prioritize the voices of racial minorities in the amenity planning process, we use data collected from a Health Impact Assessment survey conducted in the Old Spanish Trail/South Union neighborhood in Houston, Texas, and focus on the proposed implementation of neighborhood greenways as a case study for environmentally just amenity planning. We find that survey respondents are significantly more likely to report greater frequency and intensity of greenway use when they are presented with a greenway map produced through a community-based neighborhood collective than when they are presented with a greenway map produced by a Houston government-commissioned corporation. Our findings also suggest that implementing neighborhood greenways, regardless of map, will increase neighborhood walkability and perceptions of intensity of greenway use in the future. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our research for environmental amenity planning in historically marginalized urban neighborhoods.