As an undergraduate student at Wofford College, I worked with Dr. Jennifer Bradham and fellow researcher Wade Wood to research greenspace equity in Spartanburg County, SC. I utilized GIS tools to analyze the distribution of parks and green spaces in relation to socioeconomic demographics, identifying disparities in access across different communities.
Greenspace Equity
Guiding Research Questions:
How do you best evaluate distribution, quality, and visitation counts of greenspaces in Spartanburg County, SC? What are residents’ experiences and perceptions of their greenspaces?
All parks and trails studied within Spartanburg County, South Carolina with an enlarged view of the Spartanburg area, where most parks and nearly all trails are located.
Census tracts and zip codes in Spartanburg County, South Carolina showing the number of parks within each spatial boundary. There are more parks per zip code than census tract, which unfairly represents certain census tracts. For example, Fairforest’s zip code shows 5-6 parks, but Fairforest’s census tract shows 0 parks.
Census tracts and zip codes in Spartanburg County, South Carolina showing the number of parks within each spatial boundary. Red boundaries indicate the five areas with the highest percentage of the population identifying as Hispanic. For park distribution at the zip code level, these highlighted areas are visually represented with higher numbers of parks. However, at the census tract level, only the Greer tract has more than 2 parks, with many having no parks.
Conclusions and Impacts
- Park quantity and distribution can vary greatly depending on which spatial boundary is chosen and conclusions should be interpreted in context with the resolution within which it was evaluated.
- Parks are evenly distributed through most of the county at the zip code level, yet they are more concentrated in urban areas such as Spartanburg and Greer at the census tract resolution.
- Census tracts elucidate patterns of inequity in park availability and quality for certain demographics. Therefore, decisions regarding park access and creation need to be evaluated at a census tract level.
- P.A.L.: Inform trail and park funding allocations
- Spartanburg City Parks and Recreation: Expand upon existing website to include park amenities and accurate location information, and impact funding allocations.
- Spartanburg County Parks and Recreation: Lead to the acquisition of Salvation Army Park and impact future park development and funding.
Media
Upstate Forever: Equitable Access to Greenspace in Spartanburg
Drew Wilson 