This online exhibit for Professor Heather Bedi’s Environmental and Social Justice class allows Dickinson College students to reflect on environmental injustices and demographic trends in their neighborhood, town, city, or state. In defining just sustainabilities, Agyeman et al. (2003) argue that social and economic inequalities across place exacerbate environmental injustices. They advocate for human equality to be central in sustainability efforts. Students explore (un) just sustainabilities in their place through a paper and a publicly exhibited zero-waste visual or audio project.

Open Space, Healthy Mind: Access to Open Space in Danbury, CT

Danbury, Connecticut has a diverse population with ranges of race, wealth, education levels, and overall population density. The city of Danbury is broken up into geographic “clusters” which can be sorted using the demographic indicators listed above. Center city Danbury can be characterized by high population density, a high percentage of minority citizens, and incomes between $15,000 and $50,000. Yet southern Danbury is very different: lower population density, a lower percentage of minority citizens, and higher incomes. The distribution of open space follows these trends. Center city Danbury has a high number of smaller parks with fewer active components (like walking trails or playgrounds). These parks are roughly evenly distributed throughout the urban area of Danbury but are not equal in type. The outer parts of Danbury have higher numbers of large tracts of land as well as well-kept playgrounds and parks.

Neighborhoods near open spaces enjoy a number of health benefits, including lower stress levels and higher levels of mental regeneration after stressful experiences. There is extensive literature discussing and proving that having access to open space plays an important role in having strong mental health. Studies also show that parks with more tangible aspects, like walking trails, birdlife, or bodies of water are more effective in boosting moods, making them higher-quality parks. Good mental health is a basic, universal human right, and ensuring access to high-quality open spaces is a core component of having a mentally, physically, and socially healthy community. Danbury’s widespread and affordable public bus system ensures that all neighborhoods have access to different types of parks across the city.

 

I have created a visual project to explore these issues in more depth. You can view it here.

 

 

Featured Image: Photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash.

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