DT Franklin | 2026 I.S. Symposium
Name: DT Franklin
Title: The Right to Parks: Examining the Relationship Between Urban Green Spaces and Community Cohesion in Memphis, Tennessee
Majors: Communication Studies; Urban Studies
笔补迟丑飞补测:听Sustainability
Advisor: Heather Fitz Gibbon
This study investigates the connection between access to green spaces and community cohesion in Memphis, Tennessee, specifically within neighborhoods influenced by racial and economic disparities. People often think of parks as just places to have fun, but their location, quality, and accessibility can show bigger trends in how cities invest and disinvest. This research utilizes the theoretical frameworks of the Right to the Parks, Environmental Justice, Social Infrastructure, and Collective Efficacy to examine how differences in green space influence neighborhood belonging and community interaction. The study incorporates a combination of spatial analysis and survey data to examine these relationships. I used GIS mapping to look at where parks are in Memphis and how easy it is to get to them based on factors such as income and race in the area. This spatial analysis looked at how far apart neighborhoods are from parks and how different the parks’ amenities are. These structural patterns were combined with survey responses from Memphis residents that assessed perceptions of park quality, accessibility, and community attachment. The results indicate that access to and quality of green spaces are not evenly spread throughout Memphis. Also, how residents feel about the quality of parks is closely linked to how attached they feel to their neighborhood. On the other hand, people who live in higher-income neighborhoods don鈥檛 necessarily tend to be closer to parks and have more park amenities. People who think green spaces are very important are also more likely to notice that the city doesn’t put enough money into parks in some areas. The study shows that parks do more than just make the environment better. They serve as types of social infrastructure that shape how communities come together, interact, and feel like they belong. It proposes that more equitable green space planning could enhance community life in Memphis.
Posted in Symposium 2026 on May 1, 2026.
