Oxfordshire’s greenspace-deprived neighbourhoods
Lead author: Martha Crockatt
Contributors: Matt Witney (Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership), Alison Smith (University of Oxford), Rosie Rowe (Oxfordshire County Council), Mark Hirons (University of Oxford), Constance McDermott (University of Oxford), Camilla Burrow (Wild Oxfordshire) and Joseph Gent (University of Oxford).
There are well known links between health and access to and engagement with green spaces, which is increasingly recognised in environment and health policy, reflected in increasing interest in green social prescribing. However, there is evidence that the most deprived communities have least access to greenspace, that more deprived communities receive greater benefits from greenspace, and that not all greenspace has similar impacts, with more biodiverse areas providing greater benefits. Oxfordshire is the South East’s most rural county, with many large, privately owned estates. The relative affluence of the county means that small areas of socio-economic deprivation risk being overlooked. The most socio-economically deprived neighbourhoods occur in densely populated urban areas.
This report explores Natural England’s Green Infrastructure data to identify neighbourhoods in Oxfordshire experiencing both socio-economic deprivation and poor provision of accessible greenspace, with a view to these neighbourhoods being prioritised in terms of planning, allocation of funding, and effort for improving quality and quantity of accessible greenspace.
