Alessandro Rigolon
Biographic Data
| ID | 3481491 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Alessandro Rigolon |
| GIVEN NAMES | Alessandro |
| FAMILY NAME | Rigolon |
| SIGNATURE | RIGOLON A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Utah |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5197-6394 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 56 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 231 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 56 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2016 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
“We Must Understand Their Needs First”: Nature-Based Mental Health Programs Are Beneficial and Feasible for Older Adults
Holistic approaches to mental health that go beyond traditional medication-based therapies are often necessary for older adults (OAs). Forest bathing is a nature-based intervention that combines guided walks with mindfulness activities and has emerged as a complementary alternative to conventional therapies that promote mental well-being. However, most existing forest bathing programs are designed for the general population and may not adequately…
How to prioritize park equity investments more efficiently: Introducing the per square mile tool
Existing tools to prioritize park investments do not identify locations that would maximize access for the greatest number of people, especially underserved populations. The first goal of this paper is to address this limitation by introducing a new tool for prioritizing equitable park investments using a utilitarian framework to maximize impact. The PerSquareMile (PSM) tool ranks one-square-mile cells to identify where new parks are needed withi…
The Green Divide [film]: Alberto Bougleux (dir.). (2025). BCNUEJ–Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability, 41 minutes. https://www.bcnuej.org/the-green-divide
‘Broken windows’ and ‘eyes on the street’: How crime affects park and trail use in Chicago’s low-income communities of color
This study examined how perceptions of crime affected the use of parks and trails for recreation among Latinx residents of two communities in Chicago, IL. Using the ‘broken windows’ and ‘eyes on the street’ frameworks, we examined differences between Little Village, an area experiencing disinvestment, and neighbourhoods around the Bloomingdale Trail, which are gentrifying. We collected data in two phases, including focus groups and interviews wit…
Comparing methods for measuring park access and equity using US census microdata in metropolitan Miami
Knowledge from prior park equity studies has been limited by differences in the spatial analytic techniques applied to measure park accessibility, a lack of systematic methods comparisons, and overreliance on aggregated spatial data. Our study addresses these issues using individual-level, restricted-access US Census American Community Survey microdata ( n = 339,000) from 2015 to 2019 to compare (a) alternative techniques for measuring access to …
Will biodiversity actions yield healthy places? A systematic review of human health outcomes associated with biodiversity‐focused urban greening
There is growing interest in using urban greening projects to support biodiversity. While there are many potential co‐benefits, the health outcomes resulting from biodiversity‐supporting activities have yet to be synthesized. We conducted a systematic review of health outcomes associated with seven biodiversity‐supporting elements, including patch size, connections, matrix quality, habitat diversity, native plants, special resources and vegetatio…
A systematic review of green gentrification and mental health
Urban development projects increasingly incorporate greening efforts in underserved communities to improve human health and promote biodiversity. Unfortunately, these efforts can create a paradox whereby target communities do not reap the benefits due to increased property values, and subsequent physical or social-cultural displacement. This process, green gentrification, may negatively affect residents' mental health. Despite increased urban gre…
Different pathways to greening in gentrifying communities: Power, transformative projects, and the green gentrification cycle
Influence of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Students’ Social Experience: A Cross-Sectional Qualitative Study across Seven Universities in the U.S
The COVID-19 pandemic affected and continues to modify students’ social life and as a result may impact their long-term development. This study is a part of a larger research project focused on the psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students. For this manuscript, we employed content analysis to analyze 1,327 quotes related to changes in social experiences and outcomes related to these changes from a sample of 1,099 stude…
Development Fees and Park Equity in Los Angeles
Problem, research strategy, and findings Parks are inequitably distributed in many U.S. cities, and policies and planning initiatives around the country have sought to rectify these inequities. In this study, we examined whether one such initiative, a policy change in development fees for parks in Los Angeles (CA), achieved its equity goals. Specifically, the changed Park Fees Ordinance loosened the distance requirements between developments wher…
Does gentrification precede and follow greening? Evidence about the green gentrification cycle in Los Angeles and Chicago
Data augmented planning: A data-driven approach to measuring-understanding-optimizing green justice across 263 Chinese cities
Climate adaptation strategies for active transportation: Barriers and facilitators in U.S. cities
Does green infrastructure affect housing prices via extreme heat and air pollution mitigation? A focus on green and climate gentrification in Los Angeles County, 2000-2021
Advancing green space equity via policy change: A scoping review and research agenda
Urban green spaces – including parks, trees, and other vegetated areas – are inequitably distributed in cities worldwide, as underserved groups, such as low-income and people of color, have significantly lower provisions of such resources. Motivated by the health benefits of green spaces, advocates and policymakers in several countries have sought to ameliorate these systemic inequities by implementing green space equity initiatives. Many such in…
The Dynamic Relationship between Social Cohesion and Urban Green Space in Diverse Communities: Opportunities and Challenges to Public Health
Social cohesion is a key factor within social determinants of health and well-being. Urban green spaces can provide environments that potentially facilitate meaningful and positive social interactions that promote social cohesion, equity, human health, and well-being. However, the lack of integration of existing research on social cohesion, urban green spaces, and public health in diverse (e.g., racially and ethnically) communities limits cultura…
Nimby Attitudes, Homelessness, and Sanctioned Encampments: A Longitudinal Study in Denver
Many U.S. cities have introduced sanctioned encampments (SEs) for people experiencing homelessness (PEH) to help address this growing crisis. In many cases, SEs have sustained significant NIMBY opposition. In this article, we use a longitudinal survey to examine which socio-spatial factors and personal characteristics of local residents affect support for SEs at the time of their siting and 6 months after their implementation. We find that suppor…
Sense of Community and Recreation Participation of Latinx Residents on the Bloomingdale Trail: Greenway Use in a Gentrifying Community
Examining facilitators and challenges to implementing equitable green space policies: Lessons from Los Angeles County
Many cities and counties in the U.S. have recently passed equity-oriented policies to improve access to green space for disadvantaged communities. However, the implementation of these policies could limit their intended outcomes, and scant research has focused on their implementation. To address these knowledge gaps, we explored the facilitators and challenges to effectively implementing equity-oriented policies that dedicate green space funding …
Beyond revanchism? Learning from sanctioned homeless encampments in the U.S
To manage the growing homelessness crisis, many U.S. cities have implemented sanctioned encampments (SEs): temporary, state-designated public spaces for camping where people experiencing homelessness (PEH) can receive key services. Praised as a more compassionate response to managing homelessness, some argue that SEs can invisibilize PEH and fail to address structural causes of the crisis. In this paper, we examine how SE managers navigate contra…
The green gentrification cycle
Significant research has shown that gentrification often follows the implementation of greening initiatives (e.g. new parks) in cities worldwide, in what scholars have called ‘green gentrification’. A few other studies in the Global North suggest that greening initiatives might be disproportionately located in disadvantaged neighbourhoods that are gentrifying as opposed to disadvantaged areas experiencing continuous disinvestment. Building on the…
No justice, no streets: The complex task of evaluating environmental justice on open streets in three U.S. cities
In this paper, we study open street initiatives through a holistic definition of environmental justice, shedding light on three potential paradoxes of such initiatives: the engagement, hegemony, and displacement paradoxes. We use a mixed-methods approach integrating interviews and spatial analyses, focusing on three cities with permanent programs: Denver, Oakland, and Seattle. Our findings for the engagement paradox show that cities with existing…
Nature's contributions in coping with a pandemic in the 21st century: A narrative review of evidence during Covid-19
Open Streets for Whom: Toward a Just Livability Revolution
The COVID-19 pandemic has created opportunities for cities to close streets to automobile traffic in the name of public health. Although these interventions promise numerous benefits, neighborhood activists and scholars of color suggest they can perpetuate structurally racist inequities. In this Viewpoint, we implore planners and other city builders to think critically about the impact of these interventions by employing an environmental justice …
Where greenspace matters most: A systematic review of urbanicity, greenspace, and physical health
Inequities in the quality of urban park systems: An environmental justice investigation of cities in the United States
Green gentrification or ‘just green enough’: Do park location, size and function affect whether a place gentrifies or not
Recent research shows that the establishment of new parks in historically disinvested neighbourhoods can result in housing price increases and the displacement of low-income people of colour. Some suggest that a ‘just green enough’ approach, in particular its call for the creation of small parks and nearby affordable housing, can reduce the chances of this phenomenon some call ‘green gentrification’. Yet, no study has tested these claims empirica…
We're not in the business of housing: ” Environmental gentrification and the nonprofitization of green infrastructure projects
What Shapes Uneven Access to Urban Amenities? Thick Injustice and the Legacy of Racial Discrimination in Denver’s Parks
Like other urban amenities, parks are unevenly distributed throughout cities, with advantaged groups enjoying better access to better parks than more disadvantaged residents. Although such inequities are well documented, we know less about the mechanisms that shape them. We conduct a case study in Denver that includes a GIS analysis and interviews with local planners and historians. We find that while park funding systems have tended to steer inv…
Nonprofits and park equity in Los Angeles: A promising way forward for environmental justice
Disparities in park provision raise environmental and health justice concerns. With public agencies stepping back from providing environmental amenities in increasingly neoliberal urban regimes, nonprofits in the U.S. have assumed a prominent role in the parks and recreation sector. But very few studies have comprehensively assessed whether and how park nonprofits contribute to increasing or closing the equity gap in park provision. Focusing on L…
Toward a socioecological model of gentrification: How people, place, and policy shape neighborhood change
Researchers have determined many of the factors that make neighborhoods susceptible to gentrification, but we know less about why some gentrification-susceptible neighborhoods gentrify and others do not. Some studies claim that internal neighborhood features such as historic housing stock are the most powerful determinants of gentrification, whereas other studies argue that a lack of strong affordable housing policies is the primary driver of nei…
An Ecological Model of Environmental Justice for Recreation
Socioeconomic and racial-ethnic inequities in access to recreation settings are widely considered environmental justice (EJ) issues. Researchers in leisure, geography, urban planning, and other disciplines have published important theoretical contributions on EJ related to recreation and parks, but such contributions have not been examined conjointly to identify their broader implications. In this article, we use an integrated definition of EJ th…
The green gentrification cycle
Significant research has shown that gentrification often follows the implementation of greening initiatives (e.g. new parks) in cities worldwide, in what scholars have called ‘green gentrification’. A few other studies in the Global North suggest that greening initiatives might be disproportionately located in disadvantaged neighbourhoods that are gentrifying as opposed to disadvantaged areas experiencing continuous disinvestment. Building on the…
To them, we're just kids from the hood”: Citizen-based policing of youth of color, “white space,” and environmental gentrification
Privately owned parks in New Urbanist communities: A study of environmental privilege, equity, and inclusion
Privately owned parks and public spaces (POPS) are increasingly common in New Urbanist (NU) communities. POPS raise concerns related to environmental privilege, equity, and inclusion; however, no investigation has fully analyzed whether POPS in NU communities cause these same concerns. This is particularly problematic because of NU’s recognition as a sustainable planning paradigm and because NU proponents seek to establish mixed-income and ethnic…
Beyond revanchism? Learning from sanctioned homeless encampments in the U.S
To manage the growing homelessness crisis, many U.S. cities have implemented sanctioned encampments (SEs): temporary, state-designated public spaces for camping where people experiencing homelessness (PEH) can receive key services. Praised as a more compassionate response to managing homelessness, some argue that SEs can invisibilize PEH and fail to address structural causes of the crisis. In this paper, we examine how SE managers navigate contra…
Hiking during the Covid-19 pandemic: Demographic and visitor group factors associated with public health compliance
During the COVID-19 pandemic, compliance with public health guidelines to reduce the coronavirus spread became a focal point for park managers. Because parks were among the few spaces open to the public during the pandemic, park users may have been willing to accept the risk of noncompliance in exchange for the benefits of being outdoors. In this study, we used the SOPARC observation method to examine what predicted hikers' compliance with public…
What predicts the demand and sale of vacant public properties? Urban greening and gentrification in Chicago
Many post-industrial U.S. cities have developed programs to promote the greening of publicly-owned vacant lots, including initiatives in which homeowners can purchase nearby lots and turn them into yards or community gardens. These initiatives can result in greener landscapes in marginalized communities, but we know little about the spatial patterns of vacant land disposition and whether demand for and sale of publicly-owned lots are stronger in …
Who has more walkable routes to parks? An environmental justice study of Safe Routes to Parks in neighborhoods of Los Angeles
The walkability of streets located near parks matters for public health and environmental justice. Urban parks could help address increasing health concerns in the United States; however, parks tend to be inequitably distributed, and unsafe or uncomfortable routes to parks might be additional impediments to park use. We therefore seek to uncover whether low-income ethnic minority communities near a neighborhood park have less walkable routes to p…
Follow the money: Do gentrifying and at-risk neighborhoods attract more park spending
Recent research has shown that spending in urban green spaces including parks has fostered gentrification, a process known as green gentrification. But could ongoing gentrification and gentrification risk also precede local spending on new or existing parks? Focusing on the City of Los Angeles, we investigate whether park investment generated through developer fees in 2016–2018 went disproportionately to neighborhoods undergoing gentrification or…
A park is not just a park”: Toward counter-narratives to advance equitable green space policy in the United States
Policy advocacy to address socioeconomic and racial/ethnic inequities in access to urban green space (e.g., parks) in the U.S. and elsewhere are often stymied by two dominant narratives on green space reinforced by politicians, business leaders, and mainstream media. The first argues that green space is “nice to have” but not necessary, and the second frames green space as “universally good” for economic development. In this paper, we study count…
Nimby Attitudes, Homelessness, and Sanctioned Encampments: A Longitudinal Study in Denver
Many U.S. cities have introduced sanctioned encampments (SEs) for people experiencing homelessness (PEH) to help address this growing crisis. In many cases, SEs have sustained significant NIMBY opposition. In this article, we use a longitudinal survey to examine which socio-spatial factors and personal characteristics of local residents affect support for SEs at the time of their siting and 6 months after their implementation. We find that suppor…
Examining facilitators and challenges to implementing equitable green space policies: Lessons from Los Angeles County
Many cities and counties in the U.S. have recently passed equity-oriented policies to improve access to green space for disadvantaged communities. However, the implementation of these policies could limit their intended outcomes, and scant research has focused on their implementation. To address these knowledge gaps, we explored the facilitators and challenges to effectively implementing equity-oriented policies that dedicate green space funding …
A complex landscape of inequity in access to urban parks: A literature review
Parks and young people: An environmental justice study of park proximity, acreage, and quality in Denver, Colorado
Who has more walkable routes to parks? An environmental justice study of Safe Routes to Parks in neighborhoods of Los Angeles
The walkability of streets located near parks matters for public health and environmental justice. Urban parks could help address increasing health concerns in the United States; however, parks tend to be inequitably distributed, and unsafe or uncomfortable routes to parks might be additional impediments to park use. We therefore seek to uncover whether low-income ethnic minority communities near a neighborhood park have less walkable routes to p…
Privately owned parks in New Urbanist communities: A study of environmental privilege, equity, and inclusion
Privately owned parks and public spaces (POPS) are increasingly common in New Urbanist (NU) communities. POPS raise concerns related to environmental privilege, equity, and inclusion; however, no investigation has fully analyzed whether POPS in NU communities cause these same concerns. This is particularly problematic because of NU’s recognition as a sustainable planning paradigm and because NU proponents seek to establish mixed-income and ethnic…
A QUality INdex of Parks for Youth (Quinpy): Evaluating urban parks through geographic information systems
Visiting urban parks regularly can provide significant physical and mental health benefits for children and teenagers, but these benefits are tempered by park quality, amenities, maintenance, and safety. Therefore, planning and public health scholars have developed instruments to measure park quality, but most of these tools require costly and time-consuming field surveys and only a handful focus specifically on youth. We rectify these issues by …
Do Income, Race and Ethnicity, and Sprawl Influence the Greenspace-Human Health Link in City-Level Analyses? Findings from 496 Cities in the United States
Examination of the greenspace-human health relationship operates in at least four dimensions: what is considered greenspace? which moderators and mediators are included? what outcomes are measured? and which units of analysis (e.g., individuals, cities) are studied? We examined three of these four dimensions in a cross-sectional study of 496 of the 500 most populated US cities (total population size = 97,574,613, average population per city = 197…
What Shapes Uneven Access to Urban Amenities? Thick Injustice and the Legacy of Racial Discrimination in Denver’s Parks
Like other urban amenities, parks are unevenly distributed throughout cities, with advantaged groups enjoying better access to better parks than more disadvantaged residents. Although such inequities are well documented, we know less about the mechanisms that shape them. We conduct a case study in Denver that includes a GIS analysis and interviews with local planners and historians. We find that while park funding systems have tended to steer inv…
Nonprofits and park equity in Los Angeles: A promising way forward for environmental justice
Disparities in park provision raise environmental and health justice concerns. With public agencies stepping back from providing environmental amenities in increasingly neoliberal urban regimes, nonprofits in the U.S. have assumed a prominent role in the parks and recreation sector. But very few studies have comprehensively assessed whether and how park nonprofits contribute to increasing or closing the equity gap in park provision. Focusing on L…
We're not in the business of housing: ” Environmental gentrification and the nonprofitization of green infrastructure projects
Inequities in the quality of urban park systems: An environmental justice investigation of cities in the United States
School Green Space and Its Impact on Academic Performance: A Systematic Literature Review
Background: Scholars and policymakers have criticized public education in developed countries for perpetuating health and income disparities. Several studies have examined the ties between green space and academic performance, hypothesizing that green space can foster performance, and, over time, help reduce such disparities. Although numerous reviews have analyzed the link between nature and child health, none have focused on academic achievemen…
Toward a socioecological model of gentrification: How people, place, and policy shape neighborhood change
Researchers have determined many of the factors that make neighborhoods susceptible to gentrification, but we know less about why some gentrification-susceptible neighborhoods gentrify and others do not. Some studies claim that internal neighborhood features such as historic housing stock are the most powerful determinants of gentrification, whereas other studies argue that a lack of strong affordable housing policies is the primary driver of nei…
The condition-care scale: A practical approach to monitoring progress in vacant lot stewardship programs
Condition and care are key expressions of landscape stewardship and are especially important in managing vacant urban lands. In this context, visible signs of stewardship have been associated with increased neighborhood sense of place whereas signs of physical disorder reflect perceived and actual crime. To date, assessments of condition/care and disorder using neighborhood audits have shown good reliability in field and virtual assessments but a…
Beyond proximity: Extending the “greening hypothesis” in the context of vacant lot stewardship
Research increasingly shows that greening activity can spur contagious or imitative behavior among nearby neighbors within residential landscapes. Krusky et al. (2015) examined this phenomenon in the context of vacant lots and found support for a “greening hypothesis” that residential yards near vacant lots that were converted to community gardens exhibited higher levels of care than yards near untended vacant lots. Although such activity implies…
Measuring landscape change, lot by lot: Greening activity in response to a vacant land reuse program
Urban vacancy is a persistent problem in many cities across the U.S. and globally. Vacant land greening helps improve neighborhood conditions and initiatives that transfer vacant lots to neighborhood residents can return benefits to where they are most needed. We examined one such initiative, the Chicago Large Lot Program, which allows property owners in high-vacancy areas to purchase 1–2 city-owned vacant lots on their block for $1 each. We deve…
Noncommunicable Diseases, Park Prescriptions, and Urban Green Space Use Patterns in a Global South Context: The Case of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Urban green space use is often associated with improved physical and mental health and lower noncommunicable disease (NCDs) burdens. Factors that influence green space visits have been documented in cities of the Global North, but evidence of urban green space use patterns for cities in the Global South is scarce. The aim of this study is to investigate factors influencing urban green space use patterns in Dhaka, Bangladesh, a megacity of the Glo…
What predicts the demand and sale of vacant public properties? Urban greening and gentrification in Chicago
Many post-industrial U.S. cities have developed programs to promote the greening of publicly-owned vacant lots, including initiatives in which homeowners can purchase nearby lots and turn them into yards or community gardens. These initiatives can result in greener landscapes in marginalized communities, but we know little about the spatial patterns of vacant land disposition and whether demand for and sale of publicly-owned lots are stronger in …
To them, we're just kids from the hood”: Citizen-based policing of youth of color, “white space,” and environmental gentrification
Green gentrification or ‘just green enough’: Do park location, size and function affect whether a place gentrifies or not
Recent research shows that the establishment of new parks in historically disinvested neighbourhoods can result in housing price increases and the displacement of low-income people of colour. Some suggest that a ‘just green enough’ approach, in particular its call for the creation of small parks and nearby affordable housing, can reduce the chances of this phenomenon some call ‘green gentrification’. Yet, no study has tested these claims empirica…
Psychological impacts from Covid-19 among university students: Risk factors across seven states in the United States
Background University students are increasingly recognized as a vulnerable population, suffering from higher levels of anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and disordered eating compared to the general population. Therefore, when the nature of their educational experience radically changes—such as sheltering in place during the COVID-19 pandemic—the burden on the mental health of this vulnerable population is amplified. The objectives of this st…
Green Gentrification and Health: A Scoping Review
Urban greening initiatives are often linked to enhanced human health and wellbeing, but they can also be a driver of gentrification. To date, few studies have focused on how green gentrification shapes health. In this scoping review, we analyzed existing peer-reviewed research on how greening initiatives in gentrifying neighborhoods impact health, well-being, and health pathways (e.g., physical activity, affordable housing). Using a multi-step ap…
Green Space and Health Equity: A Systematic Review on the Potential of Green Space to Reduce Health Disparities
Disadvantaged groups worldwide, such as low-income and racially/ethnically minoritized people, experience worse health outcomes than more privileged groups, including wealthier and white people. Such health disparities are a major public health issue in several countries around the world. In this systematic review, we examine whether green space shows stronger associations with physical health for disadvantaged groups than for privileged groups. …
Transferring Vacant Lots to Private Ownership Improves Care and Empowers Residents: Evidence From Chicago
Problem, research strategy, and findings Several U.S. cities have implemented vacant lot greening programs as planning strategies to address decreased tax base, crime, and other issues associated with high land vacancy in marginalized neighborhoods, yet little is known about the benefits of programs that transfer city-owned lots to private owners. Using a mixed methods approach, we studied whether and how private ownership matters for vacant lot …
Resident-led vacant lot greening and crime: Do ownership and visual condition-care matter
The role of non-governmental organizations in achieving environmental justice for green and blue spaces
Urban Green Space and Health (39 works) · Political science (36 works) · Geography (31 works) · Sociology (28 works) · Economics (23 works) · Business (20 works) · Economic growth (17 works) · Land Use and Ecosystem Services (14 works) · Law (14 works) · Gentrification (13 works)