A more equitable and inclusive walk in the park

Greenspaces like parks, gardens or walking trails can benefit individuals’ mental and physical well-being, but the accessibility of these spaces – and feeling welcomed and safe in them – is not always a universal experience. A Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) researcher’s work has found barriers for two marginalized groups: members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community and migrants and newcomers. 

Geography professor Sara Edge examined this issue through two separate studies. One explored the issue of accessibility and inclusion from the perspective of the 2SLGBTQ+ community and access to urban parks in Toronto with master’s student Claire Davis. The other focused on the experiences of migrants and newcomers in both Toronto and more rural spaces in Caledon.

“What these studies flagged is that accessibility needs to be more carefully approached from a socio-cultural perspective, as well as in terms of who feels welcomed or safe in particular spaces,” said professor Edge. She explained that discussions around increasing accessibility to public spaces often focus on issues like physical mobility. Her research shows that among these two populations, there are additional barriers based on questions of identity and belonging. 

2SLGBTQ+ inclusion in Toronto parks 

To understand the experiences of 2SLGBTQ+ people and greenspace accessibility, the researchers conducted interviews with politicians, planning and park management staff and 2SLGBTQ+ community activists. The issues of inclusion described by the queer-identifying participants in public greenspaces highlighted concerns about policing in parks, both in the historical context of sting operations but also modern instances of police targeting the queer community. Interviewees noted that a simple public display of affection like kissing may be considered acceptable by an observer if it’s a heterosexual couple but not if it’s a queer couple. Park signage such as “no loitering” can be vague, professor Edge notes, and can lead to inequitable enforcement. “So-called neutral policy language or signs about bylaw infractions can have really loaded consequences,” she said. “It leaves a lot of room around whose enjoyment is expendable, and who is privileged, and what are appropriate uses or identities in particular public spaces. And most of our evidence helped illustrate that, in many cases, members of the queer community often feel criminalized or stigmatized for behaviour that is often, in some cases, openly accepted or even celebrated amongst their hetero counterparts.” 

Visible signals of support and welcome, such as non-binary washrooms, benches or crosswalks painted with Pride and Trans flag colours, were noted by participants and recommended by the researchers. The research also suggests limiting policing and developing a more community-driven health and safety model in parks, such as having non-police crisis responders to improve inclusion.

Newcomers and migrants in urban and rural landscapes 

For newcomers and migrants dealing with the stresses of arriving in a new place, a park visit can offer important moments of respite and connection, professor Edge says. Her team’s research explored experiences in two different areas – within Toronto’s diverse Rexdale neighbourhood and in the Town of Caledon, a smaller, more rural community that is now attracting more migrants. The team interviewed immigrant residents and stakeholders, including people who help guide or manage greenspaces.

Greenspaces can offer the opportunity to support integration, with a mix of people and cultures sharing the space. However, the interviews revealed there can be some tensions over how different groups use the space, or cultural misunderstandings, such as Sikh’s religious kirpins being reported as a weapon by others in a park when there is no public threat. Adding amenities to accommodate religious needs such as foot baths for Muslim men to use before prayer, swapping gender-based change rooms for individual stalls or adding cricket pitches are examples of policy decisions that can help increase inclusion in these spaces, as found by the researchers. 

Additionally, interviewees from the more urban communities observed inequity in infrastructure condition and amount of greenspace depending on where they lived. In rural areas, one noted challenge was the need to drive to many of the parks or natural areas, which limited access for migrants and newcomers who do not have a vehicle. 

New approaches to park planning and management 

A large takeaway from both studies, professor Edge says, is the need to break down silos. To do so, she suggests there is a need for equity training in the environmental fields that often produce the future managers of parks and greenspaces so that issues of justice and social inclusion are considered by policymakers and planners when it comes to planning and managing these spaces, and not assumed to be outside of their mandate. 

Read professor Edge’s paper co-authored with Claire Davis, Jennifer Dean, Yemisi Onilude, Andrea Rishworth and Kathi Wilson, “The role of urban and rural greenspaces in shaping immigrant wellbeing and settlement in place (external link) ” in the journal Wellbeing, Space and Society.

Learn more about the research into strengthening equity and inclusion in Toronto’s parks for the 2SLGBTQ+ community (external link)  in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 

This research was supported in part by TMU’s Faculty of Arts and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.