Experts say the lack of access to parks means people living in dense, urban areas could be more vulnerable to COVID-19.
of COVID-19 infections at a rate that's 2.1 times higher compared with white Americans, while Latinos are 1.1 times more likely to die. Federal officials say discrimination, lack of access to health care, the kinds of work many people in those communities perform, poor housing and overall poverty are likely driving those higher death rates.
"Think of the potential we would have as a society if health wasn't a barrier for people, if everyone was in tip-top shape," says Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos, an assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Maryland, and an expert on disparities in healthcare."One of the most cost-effective ways to improve health is to find open space and use it.
Benape argues the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the dangers of condemning people to live in dense, urban areas without access to parks or other open space, and that investing in parks does more than just improve the property values of people who live nearby. Growing up in greater Los Angeles, Melissa Martínez remembers the joy of running free through Chet Holifield Park, no longer bound by the strict rules of their two-bedroom home shared with her parents and her six brothers and sisters.
"These systems of oppression were never pulled out of public lands in a way that feels comfortable," she says."Land management right now very much belongs to white people. It's very much been created by systems of white supremacy." Loukaitou-Sideris says providing basic access to parks for all Americans helps foster a sense of equality while providing an opportunity for people of all backgrounds to interact.
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