Shared streets, park closures and environmental justice during a pandemic emergency in Denver, Colorado

Abstract

Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic many municipalities closed or limited access to parks. A few also added new shared streets for citizens to recreate. This large and unprecedented change in the ability of residents to use green space provides an important case for assessing how emergency planning processes might differentially impact minority groups.

Methods: Using the case of park closures and shared streets expansion in Denver, Colorado in March and April of 2020, this analysis evaluates how walking time and density of use at parks changed for different minority and income groups based on estimating park visits for residential blocks.

Results: The analysis demonstrates that minority and low income groups were not disproportionately impacted by initial closures. Shared streets provide net decreases across the city in terms of travel time and density for recreational space usage, though there is some indication benefits were not equally distributed.

Conclusion: The result emphasizes the importance of modern planning efforts and community engagement in ensuring equitable urban resilience while highlighting the potential for shared streets to provide more recreational accessibility if they can be equitably located.

Keywords: COVID-19; Environmental justice; Exercise; Parks; Shared streets; Travel time.