Achievement

Leap Cohort 5 conducted a project investigating the distribution of ecosystem services across a socioeconomic gradient in Chicago. This interdisciplinary project focused on ecological characteristics of the urban landscape, such as bird biodiversity and tree canopy cover, to determine whether there were socioeconomic disparities in their distribution. The results did not provide evidence for inequitable distribution of ecosystems services between census tracts characterized mostly by low-income African Americans and those characterized by a relatively higher income, except for distance to Lake Michigan. Their research did provide evidence that Chicago residents may not benefit equally from ecosystem services provided by green infrastructure. The study has been submitted in a manuscript that is currently in review.