Being able to walk to in nature-filled green spaces close to where we live is more important to us than ever following the COVID-19 lockdown. But the pandemic has also highlighted the sharp disparity between those who have easy access to green space, and those who don’t according to a new Ramblers’ report, The grass isn’t greener for everyone: Why access to green space matters.
The Ramblers’ research shows that green spaces are important to almost everyone, with the top reason being that they are a good place to walk (78%).
Two thirds (65%) of adults reported that being able to access green space in their local area had always been important to them, with an additional one in five adults (19%) saying that green space in their local area was more important to them now than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Only 57% of adults questioned said that they lived within five-minutes’ walk of green space, be it a local park, nearby field or canal path. That figure fell to just 39% for people from a black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) background and 46% for those with a household income of under £15,000 (compared to 63% of those with a household income over £35,000 and 70% over £70,000).