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Latin American cities with higher socioeconomic status are greening from a lower baseline: evidence from the SALURBAL project.

ABSTRACT: The characteristics of urban green space have context-dependent associations with socioeconomic status (SES). Latin American cities provide a unique but understudied context to assess the green space-SES associations. We measured the quantity and quality of green space as greenness from satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, and we modeled the relationship between greenness and SES in 371 major Latin American cities between 2000 and 2010. We found that SES was negatively associated with average greenness at city and sub-city scales, which could be explained by urbanization generally improving SES while reducing the provision of green space. About 82% of the cities and 64% of the sub-cities experienced greening or increases in greenness over time. Although with lower average greenness, cities with higher SES had greater greening; however, it was the opposite for sub-cities. We suggest that greening is more likely to take place in peripheral sub-cities where SES tends to be lower. The findings challenge the belief that places with higher SES have better access to environmental resources and amenities; instead, this relationship is context dependent.

SUBMITTER: Ju Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8524204 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Latin American cities with higher socioeconomic status are greening from a lower baseline: evidence from the SALURBAL project.

Ju Yang Y Moran Mika M Wang Xize X Avila-Palencia Ione I Cortinez-O'Ryan Andrea A Moore Kari K Slovic Anne Dorothée AD Sarmiento Olga L OL Gouveia Nelson N Caiaffa Waleska Teixeira WT Aguilar Guilherme Aparecido Santos GAS Sales Denise Marques DM Pina Maria De Fatima Rodrigues Pereira De MFRP Coelho Débora Moraes DM Dronova Iryna I

Environmental research letters : ERL [Web site] 20211019 10

The characteristics of urban green space have context-dependent associations with socioeconomic status (SES). Latin American cities provide a unique but understudied context to assess the green space-SES associations. We measured the quantity and quality of green space as greenness from satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, and we modeled the relationship between greenness and SES in 371 major Latin American cities between 2000 and 2010. We found that SES was negatively assoc ...[more]

PMID: 34691242

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Project description:BackgroundLatin America is one of the most unequal regions in the world, but evidence is lacking on the magnitude of health inequalities in urban areas of the region. Our objective was to examine inequalities in life expectancy in six large Latin American cities and its association with a measure of area-level socioeconomic status.MethodsIn this ecological analysis, we used data from the Salud Urbana en America Latina (SALURBAL) study on six large cities in Latin America (Buenos Aires, Argentina; Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; San José, Costa Rica; Mexico City, Mexico; and Panama City, Panama), comprising 266 subcity units, for the period 2011-15 (expect for Panama city, which was for 2012-16). We calculated average life expectancy at birth by sex and subcity unit with life tables using age-specific mortality rates estimated from a Bayesian model, and calculated the difference between the ninth and first decile of life expectancy at birth (P90-P10 gap) across subcity units in cities. We also analysed the association between life expectancy at birth and socioeconomic status at the subcity-unit level, using education as a proxy for socioeconomic status, and whether any geographical patterns existed in cities between subcity units.FindingsWe found large spatial differences in average life expectancy at birth in Latin American cities, with the largest P90-P10 gaps observed in Panama City (15·0 years for men and 14·7 years for women), Santiago (8·9 years for men and 17·7 years for women), and Mexico City (10·9 years for men and 9·4 years for women), and the narrowest in Buenos Aires (4·4 years for men and 5·8 years for women), Belo Horizonte (4·0 years for men and 6·5 years for women), and San José (3·9 years for men and 3·0 years for women). Higher area-level socioeconomic status was associated with higher life expectancy, especially in Santiago (change in life expectancy per P90-P10 change unit-level of educational attainment 8·0 years [95% CI 5·8-10·3] for men and 11·8 years [7·1-16·4] for women) and Panama City (7·3 years [2·6-12·1] for men and 9·0 years [2·4-15·5] for women). We saw an increase in life expectancy at birth from east to west in Panama City and from north to south in core Mexico City, and a core-periphery divide in Buenos Aires and Santiago. Whereas for San José the central part of the city had the lowest life expectancy and in Belo Horizonte the central part of the city had the highest life expectancy.InterpretationLarge spatial differences in life expectancy in Latin American cities and their association with social factors highlight the importance of area-based approaches and policies that address social inequalities in improving health in cities of the region.FundingWellcome Trust.

Project description:BackgroundDespite global interest in gender disparities and social determinants of hypertension, research in urban areas and regions with a high prevalence of hypertension, such as Latin America, is very limited. The objective of this study was to examine associations of individual- and area-level socioeconomic status with hypertension in adults living in 230 cities in eight Latin America countries.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, we used harmonized data from 109,184 adults (aged 18-97 years) from the SALURBAL (Salud Urbana en America Latina/Urban Health in Latin America) project. Hypertension was assessed by self-report. Individual-, sub-city- and city-level education were used as proxies of socioeconomic status. All models were stratified by gender.ResultsHigher individual-level education was associated with lower odds of hypertension among women (university education or higher versus lower than primary: odds ratio [OR] = 0.67, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.61-0.74) but higher odds among men (OR = 1.65; 95%CI 1.47-1.86), although in men an inverse association emerged when measured blood pressure was used (OR = 0.86; 95%CI 0.76-0.97). For both genders, living in sub-city areas with higher educational achievement was associated with higher odds of hypertension (OR per standard deviation [SD] = 1.07, 95%CI = 1.02-1.12; OR = 1.11 per SD, 95%CI = 1.05-1.18, for women and men, respectively). The association of city-level education with hypertension varied across countries. In Peru, there was an inverse association (higher city level education was associated with lower odds of hypertension) in women and men, but in other countries no association was observed. In addition, the inverse association of individual-level education with hypertension became stronger (in women) or emerged (in men) as city or sub-city education increased.ConclusionThe social patterning of hypertension differs by gender and by the level of analysis highlighting the importance of context- and gender-sensitive approaches and policies to reduce the prevalence of hypertension in Latin America.

Project description:BackgroundIn Latin America, where climate change and rapid urbanization converge, non-optimal ambient temperatures contribute to excess mortality. However, little is known about area-level characteristics that confer vulnerability to temperature-related mortality.ObjectivesExplore city-level socioeconomic and demographic characteristics associated with temperature-related mortality in Latin American cities.MethodsThe dependent variables quantify city-specific associations between temperature and mortality: heat- and cold-related excess death fractions (EDF, or percentages of total deaths attributed to cold/hot temperatures), and the relative mortality risk (RR) associated with 1 °C difference in temperature in 325 cities during 2002-2015. Random effects meta-regressions were used to investigate whether EDFs and RRs associated with heat and cold varied by city-level characteristics, including population size, population density, built-up area, age-standardized mortality rate, poverty, living conditions, educational attainment, income inequality, and residential segregation by education level.ResultsWe find limited effect modification of cold-related mortality by city-level demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and several unexpected associations for heat-related mortality. For example, cities in the highest compared to the lowest tertile of income inequality have all-age cold-related excess mortality that is, on average, 3.45 percentage points higher (95% CI: 0.33, 6.56). Higher poverty and higher segregation were also associated with higher cold EDF among those 65 and older. Large, densely populated cities, and cities with high levels of poverty and income inequality experience smaller heat EDFs compared to smaller and less densely populated cities, and cities with little poverty and income inequality.DiscussionEvidence of effect modification of cold-related mortality in Latin American cities was limited, and unexpected patterns of modification of heat-related mortality were observed. Socioeconomic deprivation may impact cold-related mortality, particularly among the elderly. The findings of higher levels of poverty and income inequality associated with lower heat-related mortality deserve further investigation given the increasing importance of urban adaptation to climate change.

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Latin American cities with higher socioeconomic status are greening from a lower baseline: evidence from the SALURBAL project.

Publications

Latin American cities with higher socioeconomic status are greening from a lower baseline: evidence from the SALURBAL project.

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