Water utilities incentivize turf replacement to promote water conservation, but the effects of such programs have received limited evaluations. In 2014, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) undertook an unprecedented investment to incentive turf replacement throughout Southern California in response to a serious Statewide drought. MWD devoted $350 million to the program, resulting in more than 46,000 rebate payments (25,000 in Los Angeles County) to remove 15.3 million square meters of turf. The program implementation provided a unique opportunity to address research gaps on turf replacement implementation. We analyzed socioeconomic and spatial trends of program participants and assessed landscape changes from turf replacement using a random sample of properties (4% of LA County participants in 2014-16). Specifically, we used a novel and cost-effective approach Google Earth Street View to characterize landscapes in front yards and created a typology of land cover types. Results showed: post-replacement landscapes had a diversity of land cover typesdiverse yards with several land cover types, as well as more homogenous yards with a single land cover such as woodchips, bare soil, gravel, and artificial turf. Analysis also indicated some evidence of "neighborhood adoption" effects. We describe the need for longitudinal studies to understand long-term effects of turf replacement and associated water use, and suggest that water utilities should also evaluate results in backyards, which requires site visits. This study provides a novel contribution that can be replicated over space and time to further knowledge of turf replacement program implementations and evaluation. Rosales, 2004; Sovocool et al., 2006), (2) changes in land cover and the composition of plant species after replacing turf (Agthe et al., 1986; Sovocool & Morgan, 2005), (3) socio-demographic trends in program participation, (4) social preferences of implemented (and presumably water conserving) landscapes on the part of both residents and
Different types of urban green spaces provide diverse benefits for human health and environmental sustainability, but most studies on access to green space focus on neighborhood parks, with less work on smaller or larger green spaces. In this study, we examined sociodemographic differences in access to green spaces of different sizes for 14,385 census block groups in 12 U.S. cities using a ‘just sustainabilities’ framework. We classified green spaces into street-level greenery (XS), neighborhood parks (S–L; walking and cycling access), and large parks (XL; walking, cycling, and driving access). We ran spatial filtering models at the census block group level using different thresholds based on transportation modes. We uncovered a complex picture of inequality, with consistent injustices for XS green space, and fewer injustices for S–L and XL green space based on socioeconomic status and age, and some instances of just distributions for S–L and XL green space based on race/ethnicity. Our findings present a concerning picture for ‘just sustainabilities’: the green space type that is most often part of sustainability and climate adaptation strategies—street greenery—is unjustly distributed, likely as a result of structural racism in U.S. institutions. By examining multimodal access to green spaces of different sizes, this study helps urban greening professionals develop more just and sustainable strategies.
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