Exposure to greenery during children's home–school walks: Socio-economic inequalities in alternative routes

Abstract

Children's home–school walks are a perfect opportunity for green routes and active transportation. However, the availability of greenery along them likely varies among different socio-economic status (SES) groups. If low-SES children have less exposure to greenery than others during these walks, this might represent environmental injustice in transportation. We assess socio-environmental inequalities regarding children's exposure to greenery in three alternative home–school routes: the shortest, simplest, and greenest. We used a mixed-method approach, linking viewshed analysis, space syntax and network analysis using multiple Lodz (Poland) datasets. Exposure to greenery along all three types of home–school routes is consistently lower for low-SES than high-SES children, signalling environmental injustice. In particular, even the greenest home–school routes of low-SES children are less green than the simplest and shortest ones of high-SES children. Combining the knowledge of pedestrian movement and environmental justice is needed to understand and address these injustices adequately.