Park types and equity: Who has access to what? A national assessment of multidimensional park qualities and socioeconomic disparities across Local Authorities in Great Britain
Jess Hepburn, Jonathan Olsen, Richard Mitchell, Thomas Astell‐Burt, Xiaoqi Feng, Fiona Caryl
Abstract
Public parks are critical urban green spaces offering multiple benefits, yet most equity research focuses on quantity rather than quality of provision. Where quality is measured, it is typically reduced to a single composite score, obscuring the multidimensional nature of these spaces. As governments worldwide prioritise green space provision to address pressing health and sustainability challenges, understanding equitable distribution of parks becomes increasingly crucial. Using multivariate clustering of quality indicators theoretically linked to health, we identified six distinct park types: Basic, Biodiversity, Amenity, Comprehensive, Sports and Zero. This typology provides an internationally applicable framework for analysing park types beyond quality scores. Multiple regression examined park type provision by Local Authority (LA) deprivation across 166 urban LAs in Great Britain. Analysis reveals clear socio-spatial patterns in park type distribution: deprived LAs show significantly higher provision of sports-focused parks (β = 0.003, 95%CI 0.002, 0.005) but lower provision of amenity-focused parks (β = -0.004, 95%CI -0.007, -0.002). Biodiversity parks show a weak negative association with deprivation (β = -0.001, 95%CI- 0.003, 0.000). These findings demonstrate how examining park-type distribution reveals previously hidden inequities in green space provision. The methodology developed here can be applied internationally to inform evidence-based planning policies. As cities globally strive to enhance their green infrastructure, governments must consider equitable provision of different park types, targeting enhancement of existing parks in deprived areas to deliver multiple co-benefits, from environmental services to diverse recreational opportunities, working toward more sustainable and equitable cities.