Cultural Greenspaces: Synthesizing Knowledge and Experience in Nova Scotia’s African-Canadian Communities through Participatory Research and SoftGIS

Abstract

Greenspaces are integral components of communities and provide numerous benefits. However, human development threatens these spaces, particularly in communities of color where histories of racial injustice persist and environmental vulnerabilities remain. A step towards preventing the loss of important cultural greenspaces is documenting knowledge and experience. This research employed community-based participatory techniques to study the relationship between the landscape and African-Canadian communities around Preston, Nova Scotia, the oldest and largest in Canada. Community-directed meetings created collaborative-based knowledge about perceptions surrounding land use change while identifying valued greenspaces. This paper studies the relationships between the community’s greenspaces and the benefits to psychological, social, and physical aspects of human wellbeing. This relationship is operationalized through the use of a public participation geographic information system (PPGIS), SoftGIS, which activates the greenspace–human wellbeing relationship through interaction and its map-based survey data collection. Results indicate residents predominately visited greenspaces near a church or community center for social wellbeing benefits to interact with neighbors and friends, to cookout, or to bring children outside. This research contributes to a greater understanding of the Preston area’s greenspace identification and qualification, resident behavior, and cultural perspectives to inform strategies and goals for engaging government agencies surrounding policy and land use planning. This research illustrates frameworks for improving building capacity and promoting racial equity within the urbanization process in other communities.