Social Science, Equal Justice and Public Health Policy: Translating Research into Action Through the Urban Greening Movement

In Los Angeles, California, United States of America, where one lives, the color of one’s skin, and how much money one has impacts one’s health and quality of life. One reason for this is that people of color and low-income people disproportionately lack access to safe places and programs for physical activity, including parks, school fields and green streets. People who lack access are deprived of the benefits of green space, including improved physical and mental health, the full development of the child including improved academic performance, positive alternatives to gangs, crime drugs and violence, social cohesion, economic vitality including green local jobs, and other values (Garcia and Strongin, 2011).