Dr. Lee Min-ki, Ph.D. candidate Woo Jun-hyuk, undergraduate student Kim Tae-rim, and Professor Lee Chang Bae of the Department of Forest and Environmental Systems; Professor Yoo Seong-ryong of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in the United States

A research team led by Professor Lee Chang Bae of the Department of Forest and Environmental Systems at Kookmin University (President Jeong Seung Ryul), in collaboration with Professor Yoo Seong-ryong of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in the United States, published a study analyzing the associations between urban forests and green spaces, socioeconomic conditions, climate factors, and disease prevalence at the sub-district level within U.S. cities. The study appeared in *Sustainable Cities and Society* (IF=13.3, top 2.4%), a prestigious international journal in the field of urban and social sustainability.
 
This study was jointly conducted by Professor Lee Chang Bae, Dr. Lee Min-ki, Ph.D. candidate Woo Jun-hyuk, and undergraduate student Kim Tae-rim from Kookmin University, along with Professor Yoo Seong-ryong from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The research team analyzed 19,351 census tracts across 498 U.S. cities, based on data provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to examine the associations between the burden of mental health conditions, asthma, coronary heart disease, and obesity, and climate factors, poverty rates, access to healthcare, racial composition, tree cover, shrub and grassland cover, and the Tree Equity Score.
 
The analysis revealed that the prevalence of major diseases among urban residents must be understood in conjunction with poverty levels, access to healthcare, racial composition, climatic conditions, and the extent to which urban forests and green spaces are equitably distributed and accessible within cities. In particular, mental health burdens, asthma, and coronary heart disease were closely associated with socioeconomic conditions, while obesity showed a significant relative contribution from racial composition.
 
The research team explained that these findings call for a reevaluation of the direction of urban forest and green space policies. While trees and green spaces within cities are generally recognized as positive factors for health, this study demonstrates that simply expanding the area of urban forests and green spaces is insufficient to fully explain or mitigate urban health inequalities. In other words, what matters is not only “how much forest and green space a city has,” but also “who can enjoy the benefits of green spaces, where, and how easily.”
 
Professor Lee Chang Bae emphasized, “This study is highly significant in that it clarifies how health disparities within cities—which are not readily apparent when looking only at city-wide averages—and issues of access to urban forests and green spaces are structurally linked at the neighborhood level,” adding, “Future urban forest and green space policies must consider not only ‘how much to create’ but also ‘where, for whom, and how to arrange them.’”
 
Dr. Lee Min-ki, the first author, said, “To reduce health inequalities in the future, we need interdisciplinary research that identifies vulnerable areas within cities more precisely and develops strategies for creating and arranging urban forests and green spaces within local living zones that are tailored to the characteristics of each area.”
 
Meanwhile, Professor Lee Chang Bae’s research team had previously published a study analyzing the relationship between urban forests and green spaces and socioeconomic inequalities, environmental risk factors, and health burdens at the city level in the United States. This paper is significant in that it expands the scope of analysis to specific sub-areas within cities, thereby providing a more precise analysis and interpretation of the relationship between urban health disparities and the equity of urban forests and green spaces.

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