Green spaces are affecting people in lesser neighborhoods
By: Matiyah Jackson
April 3, 2024Growing up in Philadelphia you see lined streets, parks filled with lush canopy covers. These are just some of the sights that Makaylah Fitzgerald saw growing up in East Oak, Philadelphia. But this isn't the experience for everyone.
This is makaylah fizgerald neighborhood in east oak philadelphia and this is where she grew up when she was a child. This picture is old but not that old and it shows how she grew up in a good neighborhood surrounded by nice trees and grass.
There is growing inequality in green spaces between neighborhoods differing in social status. For example, Tox Burner grew up in a lower income neighborhood in West Philly.
I woke up to no trees and trash outside everywhere," Burner said.
He didn't have the nice playgrounds. Instead, he had “a park with broken swings, no trees or grass just a place where people came to everyday to do nothing.”
This is a picture of Tox Burner while he is in west phiiladelphia this was taken years ago when he was still living in west philadephia. in this picture tox burner was filming for a music video and it shows how he was working his way out of west philadelphia
Not all people in Philly grow up in a good neighborhood or have the access to wake up to a nice place and see a lot of trees or have a nice park. “Greenspace access is essential to improve health and well-being throughout communities. But 100 million people in the U.S. — including 28 million children — do not have access to close-to-home parks.”
But for Makaylah who did grow up in a nice neighborhood where she has a lot of access to trees and parks.
"I don't know what it feels like not growing up in a nice place but it feels nice," Makaylah said. "I like going outside in my free time and being able to have access to things such as trees, grass and parks."
this is another picture of makaylah fitzgerald and her neighborhood and where she grew up at in east oak philadelphia. In this picture it shows makaylah in her driveway running towards her house.
Another example of people not having access to green spaces would be Tahjere Brown. He says growing up he didn't have trees outside his house, he didn't go outside and see nice parks and green grass. Instead, he saw "brown grass" and "neighbors' houses with trash all in it.”
These pictures show were tahjere brown grew up in west philadelphia and some of the places he lived or went to growing up in that environment. in these pictures it shows the block he grew up on and the store and block he was always on and at.
I asked burner and brown if growing up without access to green spaces affected them and if so how and brown said “ yes it affected me because growing in a neighborhood like them one i did and not being able to have a decent park or nice trees, clean grass affected my mental like i always woke up angry and didn't looks forward to nothing because there isn't really anything thing to look forward to” Burner said “ yes it did a little bit only because when i woke up i didn't look forward to going outside with my friends and stuff because it wasn't nothing to do we didnt have the resources other kids had to just go outside and have fun we had to find a way and i did i worked and got myself out of that state i was in.” this shows growing up in a neighborhood where you don't have access to green spaces can affect you mental health statistics shows that children who grew up with the lowest levels of green space had up to 55% higher risk of developing a psychiatric disorder independent from effects of other known risk factors
I asked fitzgerald if growing up with green spaces affected her and if so how she said “it affected me in a good way because growing up in a good neighborhood seeing what i see everyday waking up helps put me in a clear mind i don't wake up stressed or in a bad mood everything is good im good” this shows that growing up in a good neighborhood with green spaces can have good benefits and can actually help you have a better peace of mind. For example previous studies have shown mental health benefits for children with better access to green space (25), with, for example, nearby nature buffering the negative impact of life stress for rural children (26)..