Do Latinos inherit green space? A case study of Latino and white contact with urban nature in Gainesville, GA

Background/Question/Methods The recent migration of Latinos to non-traditional destinations in the southeastern U.S. has resulted in demographic shifts in large metropolitan areas like Atlanta, GA and Charlotte, NC and has also dramatically altered the racial/ethnic composition of smaller cities and towns throughout the region.  Studies show newly migrated Latinos to Georgia face greater health risks than whites, such as greater exposure to environmental toxins in the home and being overweight.  However, little or no research has considered Latino contact with urban green space in the neighborhoods where they settle.  Prior research suggests that minority neighborhoods typically have less access to and interaction with urban green space, compared to predominantly white districts and that these disparities constitute an environmental injustice.  We contribute to this literature by examining Latino settlement patterns in new destination cities in the South with attention to existing neighborhood green infrastructure.  We contend that southern-bound Latinos tend to settle in long-established, majority white working-class neighborhoods with ample green space, resulting in less Latino/white green space disparity.  Using specific neighborhoods in Gainesville, GA USA as a case study, we compare Latino and white perceptions and interaction with urban green space at the residential, neighborhood, and city levels.  We examine interaction, perception, and exposure with a resident survey, an arboricultural assessment of neighborhood tree quality, and a longitudinal analysis of canopy cover in the two neighborhoods.
Results/Conclusions The residential survey shows homeownership, not neighborhood, predicts green space interaction most consistently.  Logistic regression shows neighborhood was significant for only two of ten green space indicators.  The arboricultural assessment also showed no significant differences between the communities for tree health and quality; however, significantly less canopy cover was found in the majority Latino neighborhood, compared to the majority Anglo neighborhood.  But despite differences in percent canopy cover, the Latino tract contained higher than average canopy cover.  Implications are discussed for addressing predominantly renter and immigrant neighborhood interaction with green space.  In the end, a serendipitous find suggested the most striking differences in terms of overall neighborhood ecological/environmental quality in the Gainesville may be between the northern and southern sections of town.  Majority Latino and largely African American census tracts in south Gainesville contain a disproportionately high number of heavy industries.  A grassroots African American environmental organization in Gainesville asserts that the greater environmental concern is combating polluting industries.