The City Project presents its latest policy report, Healthy Parks, Schools and Communities: Green Access and Equity for Southern California. This report maps and analyzes park access and equity in nine counties in Southern California.  While there is an abundance of green space throughout Southern California as a whole, not all residents enjoy equal access to these resources. Throughout each of the counties and the Southern California region a similar pattern exists: Children of color living in poverty with no access to a car suffer first and worst in terms of access to green space and opportunities for physical activity. Health and quality of life disparities follow the same pattern as green access disparities.

According to Diana Bonta of Kaiser Permanente, “The work of The City Project and their community partners can spur new parks and recreation areas like walking paths and gardens in underserved neighborhoods, as well as joint-use agreements between schools and parks, and the recognition of green space access in local planning and policy documents.” In addition to the comprehensive nine county report, The City Project has produced shorter reports for six individual counties. Dr. Anthony Iton of The California Endowment wrote, “Whether you are a parent, concerned citizen, educator, elected official or activist, we hope this report will be useful in your efforts to make your community a healthy environment.”

The comprehensive Southern California report, as well as individual county reports in English and Spanish, are available at www.cityprojectca.org/greenjustice.

Thank you from The City Project to Prof. Manuel Pastor and PERE!