Written by: Molly Baer Kramer, Jake Kennedy, Randy Bluffstone and Sahan T.M. Dissanayake
Portland’s urban forests and parks provide a range of benefits to residents, including heat island mitigation, air quality improvements, stormwater runoff mitigation, shading, and aesthetic values. Urban tree canopies and green spaces also provide important human health benefits,including better respiratory health, reduced obesity, improved mental health and better social cohesion. But access to these valuable ecosystem services vary across the city, leading to unequal distribution of these benefits by income and socio-economic class. This recognition has led to concerns about environmental justice surrounding urban and suburban green space areas, including the distribution of benefits and barriers to use.
A multi-year project led by Randy Bluffstone and Sahan Dissanayake, both professors in the Economics Department at PSU, with support from the Institute of Sustainable Solutions (ISS), the US Forest Service, and Forest Park Conservancy, seeks to better understand how diverse groups use and value urban greenspaces and forests in Portland.
As part of this project, last year two PSU students, Jake Kennedy and Taylor McAlister, with funding from the PSU Faculty Development Fund and ISS, developed and deployed a survey across the city. Since the survey coincided with the pandemic, questions were included to measure the impact of COVID-related shutdowns on recreation use. The survey was conducted with 800 respondents who were selected to represent the diversity of the greater Portland area population.
The researchers are holding a virtual workshop in May to share preliminary results with stakeholders and to get feedback on the data and analysis. PSU faculty members and students are welcome to join. The workshop will include partners from the US Forest Service, ISS, city and state agencies, conservation organizations, and those working to improve access for underserved populations. The workshop will also offer ways to provide input and explore collaborative ways to use the data on access and valuation of urban forest/greenspace ecosystem services.
- For more information about the workshop or the study, please contact Molly Baer Kramer at mokramer@pdx.edu or Sahan Dissanayake at sahan@pdx.edu.
Preliminary results show that more than 80% of the respondents have used parks in Portland over the last year, indicating their importance. While 53% reported using parks less frequently due to Covid-19, nearly a quarter of respondents said they used parks more often in the same period.
Early results also indicate that across all the respondents, the most important amenities are trails (64%), trees (54%), water-related features (46%), and quiet time (41%). The most significant barriers to park use include available time for recreation due to work (38%) or family (37%) and safety concerns (35%); physical limitations (15.82%) and access to parking (14%) or public transportation (13%) also emerge as important barriers.
While the results are preliminary, we have so far found that the value of different amenities provided by parks, and barriers to accessing them, vary by socio-demographic factors. For example, respondents self-identifying as people of color were more likely to pick picnic facilities, trails, playgrounds, BBQ facilities and playing fields as desired amenities. Respondents living in shared living spaces were more likely to pick quiet time, access to trees, and playgrounds. Barriers also varied, with people of color more likely to highlight safety as a barrier, for example.
Please join us for the Workshop in May to learn more about this project, the results and how they might be applied to guide policy. Email mokramer@pdx.edu or sahan@pdx.edu for more info.
Molly Baer Kramer is Faculty Projects Manager with PSU’s Institute of Sustainable Solutions. Randy Bluffstone is Professor of Economics at PSU and Director of PSU’s Institute for the Environment and Economics. Sahan T. M. Dissanayake is an Assistant Professor of Economics at PSU and directs the Graduate Certificate in Sustainability. Both are Fellows of PSU’s Institute for Sustainable Solutions. Jake Kennedy is a master’s student in economics at PSU and a Sustainability Leadership Fellow. Taylor McAllister graduated from PSU in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in economics.