Department of Earth, Environmental, and Geospatial Sciences, Lehman College, City University of New York, New York, NY 10468, USA.
CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, New York, NY 10027, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Oct 12;15(10):2233. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15102233.
Gentrification is a growing concern in many urban areas, due to the potential for displacement of lower-income and other vulnerable populations. This process can be accelerated when neighborhood "greening" projects are undertaken via governmental or private investor efforts, resulting in a phenomenon termed environmental or "green" gentrification. Vacant land in lower-income areas is often improved by the existing community through the creation of community gardens, but this contributes to these greening efforts and paradoxically may spur gentrification and subsequent displacement of the gardens' stewards and neighbors. "Is proximity to community gardens in less affluent neighborhoods associated with an increased likelihood of gentrification?" Using Brooklyn, New York as a case study, we examined this question using Geographic Information Systems and two spatial methods: a census block group proximity analysis, and a hot spot analysis, to determine the potential impact of proximity to community gardens in lower-income areas. The results of the analyses suggest that proximity to community gardens is associated with significant increases in per capita income over the five years study period, which is indicative of areas undergoing gentrification. This has implications for environmental justice because existing lower-income residents are likely to be displaced after their community is improved environmentally.
城市更新是许多城市地区日益关注的问题，因为这可能导致低收入和其他弱势群体的流离失所。当社区“绿化”项目通过政府或私人投资者的努力进行时，这种情况会加速，从而导致环境或“绿色”城市更新现象。低收入地区的闲置土地通常通过创建社区花园来改善现有社区，但这有助于这些绿化工作，并且可能会促使城市更新，随后导致花园管理者和邻居的流离失所。“在较贫困社区附近是否有社区花园会增加城市更新的可能性？” 我们以纽约布鲁克林区作为案例研究，使用地理信息系统和两种空间方法：普查街区组接近度分析和热点分析，来确定低收入地区社区花园附近的潜在影响。分析结果表明，在研究期间的五年中，接近社区花园与人均收入的显著增加有关，这表明该地区正在经历城市更新。这对环境正义产生了影响，因为在环境得到改善后，现有的低收入居民很可能会被迫离开。
