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Abstract
In recent years, greenways have become increasingly popular amenities for cities to develop to enhance economic development, public health, and sustainability. Greenways’ connective nature allows residents to access them from many points in a geographical area. Residents living near greenways have been understudied. Because the average greenway user lives near the greenway they utilize and nearby residents live with the daily benefits and drawbacks of the trails, the perceptions of residents living in greenway-adjacent communities are critical.Urban greenways have been found to be correlated with issues of environmental justice, such as environmental gentrification and procedural injustice. The Atlanta BeltLine is an urban greenway project in Atlanta, Georgia that has residents concerned about the effects the trail has on nearby communities. Most environmental justice research has been qualitative or secondary data-based quantitative studies, and few have investigated the impact environmental justice perceptions and experiences have on urban greenway support.
This study has three objectives: 1) understand the roles neighborhood attachment, gentrification worldview, and political empowerment play in predicting greenway support; 2) further understand differences between residential subgroups’ experiences and perspectives concerning gentrification worldview, political empowerment, and greenway support; and 3) provide a tool for researchers to measure residents’ perceptions of gentrification indicators within their neighborhood. Results have implications for greenway managers, planners, city officials, and researchers in their understanding of the roles greenways and gentrification play in neighboring communities.