Environmental injustice and pedestrian accessibility to urban parks: A comparative case study in São Paulo, Brazil

Source abstract

São Paulo, one of the largest megacities in the Global South, exemplifies profound socio-environmental disparities, where affluent areas coexist alongside territories marked by poverty and social vulnerability. In this context, this study addresses environmental justice and urban green justice by examining how accessibility to green spaces varies across socially unequal settings. To do so, it compares pedestrian accessibility to two urban parks, Do Povo Park (PP) and Jardim da Conquista Park (JCP), located in contrasting contexts of social vulnerability. These cases, marked by pronounced sociodemographic disparities, provide the basis for examining environmental injustice in access to urban green spaces. Accessibility was assessed using the Sidewalk Quality Index (SQI), while sociodemographic characteristics were analyzed through Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and multivariate statistical methods, including PCA, nMDS, and SIMPER. The results reveal significant socioeconomic differences between the two areas. Residents around PP have substantially higher incomes and smaller household sizes than those surrounding JCP. In addition, the JCP area has a larger Black population, indicating deeper sociodemographic inequalities. Crucially, the surroundings of PP exhibit significantly higher SQI values, whereas the surroundings of JCP show not only much lower average scores, but also substantially greater internal inequality (Gini and Theil indices) and a near-total failure (94.7%) to meet minimum quality thresholds. Overall, the findings highlight the intersection between socioeconomic vulnerability and sidewalk quality, underscoring the need for inclusive policies that improve pedestrian accessibility and reduce inequalities in access to urban parks.