Spatial Distribution of Urban Green Areas in Xalapa, Mexico: A Case of Inequality

Abstract

Green areas provide environmental and social benefits and services to the population; however, they are generally unevenly distributed in cities, linked to an unequal provision of such benefits, with implications for environmental justice. Based on a cartographic and statistical analysis, we evaluated the endowment and spatial distribution of public urban green areas in Xalapa, Mexico, and its relationship with the Urban Marginalization Index of the National Population Council (CONAPO, by its initials in Spanish). In Xalapa, the distribution of green areas showed a clustered pattern; 47 % of the neighborhoods in the city do not have green areas, and the lower number and area of green areas were related to high rates of marginalization. As in many other cities in Mexico, the previous indicates a lack of distributive environmental justice in the city and a need for viable design and redesign approaches to achieve a less heterogeneous endowment of green areas in the city.