In March, Philadelphia-based emergency room doctor Eugenia South found herself deep in the throes of stress. The COVID-19 pandemic was spiraling out of control in the city, and more and more patients were pouring into the hospital where she worked, which was short of masks. South knew she had to protect her three young children at home and somehow keep herself calm and clear-eyed.

That opportunity to take a moment in nature is something many researchers have increasingly identified as valuable for people’s mental and physical health. But a new report underscores a reality that many Black and brown Americans have recognized for years: In the United States, people of color live in places with less immediate access to nature than white people do. The report, led by the Hispanic Access Foundation and the Center for American Progress, found that communities of color are almost three times more likely than white communities to live in “nature deprived” areas, those that have less or no access to parks, paths, and green spaces.

Historical racism in housing practices, city planning, and institutions has shaped the pattern, which has been well documented for decades. But its effects are particularly damaging this summer. During COVID-19-related restrictions, access to outdoor recreation has emerged as a crucial component of people’s emotional and physical wellbeing. At the same time, it has become increasingly obvious that Black and brown Americans are unsafe in many of the country’s public spaces.

“The distribution of these nature disparities is not an accident,” says Shanna Edberg, one of the authors of the report and the director of Conservation Programs at the Hispanic Access Foundation. “It was a choice, made over generations, from redlining, to choosing to exclude minorities from certain neighborhoods, to choosing to put parks in certain neighborhoods, and choosing to pave over communities of color to build highways and coal plants.”

By Alejandra Borunda for National Geographic