Green Areas and Environmental Justice: Toward the Urban Sustainability of León, Guanajuato

Green areas help improve the living conditions for all inhabitants in cities. This study contributes to clarify the relationship between environmental justice and urban sustainability based on the analysis of the rate and distribution of urban green areas particularly in the case of the City of León, Guanajuato, Mexico. A systematic literature review related to the topic of study was conducted. In addition, spatial analysis of the rate and distribution patterns of urban green areas in the city was carried out and some of the basic principles that guide the planning of green areas in the city were discussed. The results showed that there is a rate of green areas in the City of León of 1.74 m², which follows a dispersed pattern of urban growth, characterized by a socio-spatial fragmentation of the city. The rate of green areas in the priority polygons is about 1.86 m², with unequal concentrations on each zone and an influence range that restricts an equitable access to the benefits of these areas. It has been identified that urban sustainability implies the habitability of the public space, which involves the guarantee of a more equitable, equal, and democratic use of the natural richness or of the one socially generated, where the green areas constitute a strategic element to reach the environmental, economic and social benefits of the sustainability.