Cassandra Johnson Gaither

Approaching Environmental Health Disparities and Green Spaces: An Ecosystem Services Perspective

Health disparities occur when adverse health conditions are unequal across populations due in part to gaps in wealth. These disparities continue to plague global health. Decades of research suggests that the natural environment can play a key role in sustaining the health of the public. However, the influence of the natural environment on health disparities is not well-articulated. Green spaces provide ecosystem services that are vital to public health. This paper discusses the link between green spaces and some of the nation’s leading health issues such as obesity, cardiovascular health, heat-related illness, and psychological health. These associations are discussed in terms of key demographic variables—race, ethnicity, and income. The authors also identify research gaps and recommendations for future research.

Smokestacks, Parkland, and community composition: examining environmental burdens and benefits in Hall County, Georgia, USA

This case study addresses environmental equity, in terms of African American, Latino, White, and poor communities’ proximity to both industrial facilities and parkland in Hall County, Georgia, USA. The project’s two primary goals are to (a) expand environmental justice analyses to account for both environmental burdens (industrial sites) and benefits (parkland acreage), and (b) extend this broader investigation to the county’s emergent Latino populations. Results show that both Blacks and Latinos are overrepresented in census block groups (CBGs) within 1 mile of industrial facilities, while Whites are underrepresented. Conversely, Latinos and those near or below poverty are, on average, underrepresented in communities within one-quarter mile of parkland, but Whites are overrepresented. This article discusses the environmental justice and planning implications of these findings in terms of converting existing land uses to urban green space and fuller participation of minorities in such decision making.This case study addresses environmental equity, in terms of African American, Latino, White, and poor communities’ proximity to both industrial facilities and parkland in Hall County, Georgia, USA. The project’s two primary goals are to (a) expand environmental justice analyses to account for both environmental burdens (industrial sites) and benefits (parkland acreage), and (b) extend this broader investigation to the county’s emergent Latino populations. Results show that both Blacks and Latinos are overrepresented in census block groups (CBGs) within 1 mile of industrial facilities, while Whites are underrepresented. Conversely, Latinos and those near or below poverty are, on average, underrepresented in communities within one-quarter mile of parkland, but Whites are overrepresented. This article discusses the environmental justice and planning implications of these findings in terms of converting existing land uses to urban green space and fuller participation of minorities in such decision making.

Exploring empowerment within the Gullah Geechee cultural heritage corridor: implications for heritage tourism development in the Lowcountry

While scholarship on the Gullah Geechee (GG) people has been extensive, little research has examined heritage tourisms potential to empower or disempower the GG. In an attempt to shed light on this, the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor (GGCHC) was chosen as a case-study site because of its 2006 designation by Congress to protect and promote the unique attributes of the GGs cultural heritage. Qualitative interviews were conducted to unearth how heritage tourism was psychologically, socially, politically and economically empowering or disempowering the GG. The interviews described heritage tourism as having both the potential to be a positive force for good, as well as destructive. Specific positive examples of empowerment discussed were increased pride in being GG, tourism providing opportunities for community members to come together around certain initiatives such as the Sweetgrass Basket Festival, tourism being a ‘carrot’ to clear heirs’ property issues, and the many economic opportunities associated with tourism in the Lowcountry. One example of disempowerment which transcended all four dimensions of empowerment was the claim that frauds were posing as GGs and attempting to benefit from the current renaissance surrounding the culture. Implications to the marketing and management of Lowcountry heritage tourism are discussed.

Perceptions of and Attitudes Toward Climate Change in the Southeastern United States

Despite a global scientific consensus on the anthropogenic nature of climate change, the issue remains highly contentious in the United States, stifling public debate and action on the issue. Local perceptions of and attitudes toward climate change—how different groups of people outside of the professional climate science community make sense of changes in climate in light of their personal experiences and social, political, economic, and environmental contexts—are critical foci for understanding ongoing conflicts over climate change. Contributing to a growing body of literature on the social science of climate change, we use an ethnographic approach to examine these perceptions and attitudes in three sites in Georgia across the urban–rural continuum. Our research demonstrates that the way people view the concept of climate change, its potential effects, and mitigation strategies are mediated by a range of factors, including political and religious affiliation, race and ethnicity, personal experience, economic status, environmental context, media exposure, and sense of community and place. We argue that an ethnographic approach that explores the perceptions and attitudes of specific communities in detail can add nuance to the broad-scale surveys that have dominated the field to date.

Climate Change and Forest Values

Interactions between changes in biophysical environments (climate, disturbance, and ecological function) and human responses to those changes (management and policy) will determine the effects of climate change on human communities. Effects of climate change on forests could result in a ripple effect of policy and economic response on economic sectors and human communities. The United States produces more timber than any other nation, and although timber volume nearly doubled between 1945 and the late 1980s, production since then has declined. Per capita consumption of wood products has declined since the late 1980s, but population growth has continued to increase consumption to 0.57 billion m3 in the 2000s. Increased production will be concentrated on a smaller land base with a projected net loss of 9.3 million ha of forest land in the United States over the next 50 years, mostly on private lands subject to urbanization. In natural resource-based communities, socioeconomic relationships based on commodities (e.g., timber) or amenities (e.g., recreation) will be disproportionately affected by climate-forest interactions. Anticipated climate changes, coupled with population growth, strongly increase the value of urban trees in providing ecosystem services and for mitigating climate change impacts at fine scales. Policies targeting climate mitigation directly influence forest extent and use, and responses may include more harvesting (a result of new product markets such as biofuels) and altered forest management (responding to demands for forest-based C storage). Preparation for future climate stresses in rural, urban, and wildland-urban interface communities will be enhanced by ensuring that present-day communities have diverse economies and are capable of adapting to change.

Forest fuel reduction and biomass supply: perspectives from southern private landowners.

Removing excess biomass from fire-hazardous forests can serve dual purposes: enhancing the health and sustainability of forest ecosystems and supplying feedstock for energy production. The physical availability of this biomass is fairly well-known, yet availability does not necessarily translate into actual supply. We assess the perception and behavior of private forestland owners in the southern United States with respect to thinning overstocked forests for bioenergy production. Landowner perception is then integrated with the USDA Forest Services Fuel Treatment Evaluator to estimate the biomass supply from fuel treatments on non-industrial private timberlands in the region. Due to competing uses for lumber and pulp/paper products, only about one-third of this biomass could be used as bioenergy feedstock. Between 6 and 66% of landowners would consider thinning overstocked forests for bioenergy purposes depending upon whether financial incentives and technical assistance are provided. Accounting for competing uses, landowner willingness, accessibility, and recovery loss, annual feedstock supply from Southern private treatable timberlands is estimated between 0.9- and 11-million dry tonnes (dt). The average production cost is proximately

Gray space and green space proximity associated with higher anxiety in youth with autism

48/dt. Government cost shares, biomass market development, and technical assistance could significantly stimulate private landowners to procure biomass from fire-hazardous forests while mitigating wildfire risk.

“A Privilege and a Challenge”: Valuation of Heirs’ Property by African American Landowners and Implications for Forest Management in the Southeastern U.S.

ABSTRACT This study used ZIP code level data on childrens health (National Survey of Childrens Health, 2012) and land cover (National Land Cover Database, 2011) from across the United States to investigate connections between proximity to green space (tree canopy), gray space (impervious surfaces), and expression of a critical co‐morbid condition, anxiety, in three groups of youth: children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD, n=1501), non‐ASD children with special healthcare needs (CSHCN, n=15,776), and typically developing children (n=53,650). Both impervious surface coverage and tree canopy coverage increased the risk of severe anxiety in youth with autism, but not CSHCN or typical children. Children with ASD might experience the stress‐reducing benefits of nature differently than their typically developing peers. More research using objective diagnostic metrics at finer spatial scales would help to illuminate complex relationships between green space, anxiety, and other co‐morbid conditions in youth with ASD. HIGHLIGHTSImpervious surface (gray space) linked to anxiety in youth with autism.Dense tree canopy coverage (green space) linked to anxiety in youth with autism.Youth with autism may experience nature differently than typically‐developing peers.Research needed to explore effects of nature on youth with mental health disorders.

Promoting Environmental Justice Through Urban Green Space Access: A Synopsis

African Americans have historically struggled to retain land that has been held in their families for generations as heirs’ property, or land held collectively by heirs of the original owners without clear title. Ethnographic interviews with sixty landholding African American families in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Alabama reveal the cultural meanings associated with family land, forestland in particular, and the role of heirs’ property in inhibiting forest management, including the threat of land loss, intra-family conflict, and legal limitations on forestry activities. The majority of interviewees have a strong desire to pass family land on to their heirs, but they also need the land to be economically productive. Sustainable forest management offers both an incentive to obtain clear title to heirs’ property land and a means of paying property taxes and generating intergenerational wealth within families. The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities is currently collaborating with local institutions in several states in an innovative program designed to help African American landowners navigate the legal system in order to obtain clear title and provide educational workshops about the financial and ecological benefits of sustainable forestry as well as site visits by consulting foresters. Analysis of the situations faced by African Americans with heirs’ property adds to the diversity of our understandings of the complex relationships between land tenure and forestry, with potential application for other minority communities in the U.S. and elsewhere.