Mapping Access to Environmental Education
Narrative and Purpose
We sought to assess the status of access to urban ecology youth programs for Chicago elementary-aged students. Locations of Chicago Public elementary schools (blue dots) were organized as graduated symbols based on their distance from the nearest in-person program location (yellow stars). There may be other programs we were not aware of within the city or just outside city limits. Estimates of percent green area of Chicago community areas were used to symbolize students’ relative access to green space within a given community. Access to green space is certainly not the only indicator of relative environmental justice, but this information may aid future efforts to develop more local programs where green space may be lacking.
Our assessment found more than half (52%) of public Chicago elementary schools were more than ten miles away from the nearest urban ecology youth program. Even more concerning were the 71% of schools in a community area with less than the mean percent green area.
These results point to significant gaps in access to not just urban ecology youth programs, but green space in general for many Chicago elementary-aged students. In traditional wildlife-based ecology, this would be a major barrier to access. However, urban ecology offers a unique opportunity for students in relatively low green area communities to become familiar with environmental processes. Whether it be a large park or skinny parkway, urban environments possess a surprising amount of life. While in-person programs may be hard to access, our urban ecology lesson plans can embolden students to take pride in their communities by introducing them to its unique ecology.
Notes
For simplicity, distance estimates between schools and programs were calculated using Euclidean rather than Network Distance. As a result, estimates do not take transportation accessibility into account.
References
Chicago Public Schools - School Locations SY24425. Chicago Public Schools (2024).
https://data.cityofchicago.org/d/hexd-c4gn.
CPD_Parks. Chicago Park District (Updated 2024).
https://data.cityofchicago.org/d/ejsh-fztr/.
Neighborhoods_2012b. Choose Chicago (2025).
https://data.cityofchicago.org/d/y6yq-dbs2.
GIS Research
GIS map showing relationship between urban greenspace and access to environmental education