Access, equity, and urban greenways: An exploratory investigation

Recurring issues in the social sciences concern the distribution of public facilities such as parks and equity of access to them. Geographers have obs erved that access has perceptual as well as physical dimensions and that pe rceptions of difference can affect use of public space. This study explores the nature of greenways as public space and a set of issues related to equ ity of access to greenway trails in Indianapolis, Indiana. The study uses p roximity as a measure of access and simple GIS analyses of census and other data to assess equality of access. Evidence is provided that suggests that minorities and the poor have disproportionate access to trails. It is also shown that populations adjacent to the trails differ and that the populati ons along particular trails are segregated. Spatial differences in trail po pulations are associated with historic land use patterns and population mov ements within the city. The implications of the findings of difference for use of the greenways system are explored. Implications for management of th e greenways system including achievement of the goal of linking neigh borho ods-are also discussed.