TY - JOUR
T1 - Inequity in nature's contributions to people in Ōtautahi/ Christchurch
T2 - A low-density post-earthquake city
AU - Richards, Daniel
AU - Polyakov, Maksym
AU - Brandt, Angela J.
AU - Cavanagh, Jo
AU - Diprose, Gradon
AU - Milner, Grace
AU - Ramana, John V.
AU - Simcock, Robyn
N1 - Funding Information:
The work was supported by: the Strategic Science Investment Funding for Crown Research Institutes from the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Science and Innovation Group. We thank Flo van Noppen and Kirstin Deuss for comments on an initial draft, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful feedback.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Elsevier GmbH
PY - 2023/8
Y1 - 2023/8
N2 - Nature's contributions to people (NCP) include the regulating, material, and non-material benefits of urban vegetation that improve well-being. It is increasingly important to plan cities that provide multiple types of NCP equitably to all residents of the city. However, due to historical legacies and planning policies, it is common for the most socially and economically vulnerable urban residents to suffer reduced access to the benefits of urban ecosystems. Previous studies of urban NCP have drawn attention to inequity in one or several types of NCP, but few have analysed a broad range. Here we analysed inequity in nine diverse forms of urban NCP across an index of economic and social vulnerability designed specifically to characterise vulnerability to environmental pressures. Furthermore, we used spatial analysis to map co-variance in vulnerability and a composite indicator of urban NCP, thus highlighting priority regions for future investments in green infrastructure. We applied this approach to the city of Christchurch/ Ōtautahi in Aotearoa/ New Zealand, which provides a valuable case study due to its multicultural population and recent history of widespread damage and regeneration following the 2011 earthquake. Overall, the distribution of urban NCP is inequitable to the disadvantage of more vulnerable residents. Residents of more vulnerable neighbourhoods experienced reduced provision of carbon stock, runoff retention, air quality enhancement, shade, educational green space, public outdoor space accessibility, private green space, and bird biodiversity contributions. Conversely, more vulnerable neighbourhoods had greater provision of erosion mitigation (although negligible in magnitude). The wide range of indicators used and assessed in response to vulnerability, coupled with an assessment of the type of vegetation cover (i.e. grass, tall trees) provides greater insights into how inequities in urban NCP can be addressed in future redevelopment.
AB - Nature's contributions to people (NCP) include the regulating, material, and non-material benefits of urban vegetation that improve well-being. It is increasingly important to plan cities that provide multiple types of NCP equitably to all residents of the city. However, due to historical legacies and planning policies, it is common for the most socially and economically vulnerable urban residents to suffer reduced access to the benefits of urban ecosystems. Previous studies of urban NCP have drawn attention to inequity in one or several types of NCP, but few have analysed a broad range. Here we analysed inequity in nine diverse forms of urban NCP across an index of economic and social vulnerability designed specifically to characterise vulnerability to environmental pressures. Furthermore, we used spatial analysis to map co-variance in vulnerability and a composite indicator of urban NCP, thus highlighting priority regions for future investments in green infrastructure. We applied this approach to the city of Christchurch/ Ōtautahi in Aotearoa/ New Zealand, which provides a valuable case study due to its multicultural population and recent history of widespread damage and regeneration following the 2011 earthquake. Overall, the distribution of urban NCP is inequitable to the disadvantage of more vulnerable residents. Residents of more vulnerable neighbourhoods experienced reduced provision of carbon stock, runoff retention, air quality enhancement, shade, educational green space, public outdoor space accessibility, private green space, and bird biodiversity contributions. Conversely, more vulnerable neighbourhoods had greater provision of erosion mitigation (although negligible in magnitude). The wide range of indicators used and assessed in response to vulnerability, coupled with an assessment of the type of vegetation cover (i.e. grass, tall trees) provides greater insights into how inequities in urban NCP can be addressed in future redevelopment.
KW - Ecosystem services
KW - Green infrastructure
KW - Nature-based solutions
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85166351401&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ufug.2023.128044
DO - 10.1016/j.ufug.2023.128044
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85166351401
SN - 1618-8667
VL - 86
JO - Urban Forestry and Urban Greening
JF - Urban Forestry and Urban Greening
M1 - 128044
ER -