What the Maps Tell Us: Initial Findings

The analysis of the maps in this series will focus primarily on a visual assessment of the patterns shown in the maps, highlighting key areas across the region with high percentages of populations of color, populations in poverty, and/or populations of youth. This analysis represents only the first step in understanding the region’s disparities in access to greenspace. Additional research and statistical analysis will be necessary in order to update the work of the original Equity Atlas and assess how current disparities compare with previous patterns.
 
The Proximity to Greenspace & Outdoor Recreation in Relationship to Areas with Above Regional Average Percent Populations in Poverty map reveals a number of areas across the region that have low access to greenspace and outdoor recreation and have populations in poverty that are above the regional average. These neighborhoods are scattered throughout the region, particularly in rural or industrial areas. Conversely, many of the areas in the region with high levels of access to greenspace and outdoor recreation are located in more affluent neighborhoods. Examples include neighborhoods in southwest Portland, Beaverton, Lake Oswego, and West Linn.

The Proximity to Greenspace & Outdoor Recreation in Relationship to Schools with 75% or More of Students Eligible for Free or Reduced Price Lunch map provides another lens through which to examine the spatial relationship between poverty and access to greenspace. The map highlights many schools that have high student poverty rates and are located in neighborhoods with poor access to greenspace. This pattern is particularly prevalent for schools located in Gresham, Fairview, Wood Village, and in outer east Portland neighborhoods such as Hazelwood, Brentwood-Darlington and Powellhurst-Gilbert, as well as the north/northeast Portland neighborhoods of Cully and St. Johns. There are also many lower poverty schools located in neighborhoods with high access to greenspace. Examples include many schools located in west and southwest Portland, several schools in Portland’s inner east side, and schools in Lake Oswego, West Linn and Oregon City.

The Proximity to Greenspace & Outdoor Recreation in Relationship to Areas with Above Regional Average Percent Populations of Color map does not show any regionally consistent, over-arching relationship between access to greenspace and census tracts with above the regional average percentage of populations of color. But it does highlight key areas across the region with particularly low access to greenspace and above regional average percentages of populations of color, most notably in some neighborhoods along the Columbia River and outlying areas of Clackamas and Washington counties. Examples include parts of Portland’s St. Johns neighborhood, Multnomah County unclaimed #19 (a large area that extends along the Columbia River east of NE 33rd Avenue in Portland to the county line), Clark County’s Fruit Valley neighborhood, Clackamas County’s Far West and Ladd neighborhoods, and several unincorporated areas in Washington County. There are also neighborhoods with high proximity to greenspace and below regional average percentages of populations of color, particularly in Lake Oswego, West Linn and Oregon City.

The Proximity to Greenspace & Outdoor Recreation in Relationship to Percent Minority Students by School map offers another way to examine the relationship between access to greenspace and race. Again, the map does not reveal any obvious region-wide patterns, but it does indicate that many schools that are in neighborhoods with high access to greenspace have lower percentages of minority students. These include schools located in southwest Portland’s Hillsdale and Maplewood neighborhoods, in neighborhoods on Portland’s south side like Sellwood and Eastmoreland, and in Clackamas County cities like Lake Oswego, West Linn, and Oregon City. The map also highlights schools with higher percentages of minority students that are located in neighborhoods with poorer access to greenspace. The most dramatic examples include schools located in and near Boring in Clackamas County, Fruit Valley in Clark County, and Fairview in Multnomah County.

The Proximity to Greenspace & Outdoor Recreation in Relationship to Areas with Above Regional Average Percent Youth (Age 0-17) map indicates that the areas with the best access to greenspace are not necessarily the areas with the highest percentages of youth. For example, many neighborhoods in Central Beaverton, Lake Oswego, and southwest Portland have high levels of proximity to greenspace and outdoor recreation but have youth populations that are below the regional average. Conversely, many of the census tracts with above the regional average percent youth population, particularly those located in outlying areas of the region, have poor access to greenspace and outdoor recreation.

The maps in this series can play an important role in informing regional policy and planning by helping to identify specific neighborhoods across the region where racial, income, and age disparities in access to greenspace are particularly high. In order to provide sufficient context for planning decisions, the maps should be used in conjunction with statistical analysis to analyze how access to greenspace and outdoor recreation varies by population density and for specific demographic groups such as youth, low income populations, and populations of color.