The role of peri-urban parks in enhancing urban green spaces accessibility in high-density contexts: An environmental justice perspective

Recent years have seen an increasing emphasis on peri-urban parks (PUPs) in urban green spaces (UGS) development, However, little is known about how PUPs moderate overall UGS accessibility and contribute to environmental justice, particularly for high-density cities. To address this salient gap, the present study examines the overall urban green space accessibility, the moderating effects of PUPs, and the heterogeneous and dynamic perception of these effects across diverse social groups in Hong Kong between 2000 and 2020. The results demonstrate that PUPs significantly reshape the UGS accessibility pattern across different time catchments, manifested by mitigating or even reversing the disparity between urban core and peripheral areas. For the moderating effect of PUPs, despite the general trend of reduced inequalities, recent years have witnessed an increase in the inequalities between urban districts. The findings further reveal the diverse benefits derived from PUPs for different population groups and neighborhoods. Women, the elderly, low-income groups, highly educated groups, and ethnic minorities tend to benefit less from PUPs, while children and local residents experience greater advantages. Larger households and nuclear family households have increasingly relied on PUPs, while households with housing advantages (larger size and homeownership) also enjoy more significant benefits. Notably, socio-economically disadvantaged and aging neighborhoods have experienced less and diminishing benefits from PUPs. This research offers comprehensive evidence to enhance the understanding of the relationship between peri-urban and urban parks and their impact on environmental justice, thus better informing equity-orientated UGS planning and policy-making.