Are Green Spaces More Available and Accessible to Green Building Users? A Comparative Study in Texas

Green buildings (GBs) and green spaces (GSs) play a key foundational role as important drivers of urban Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There have been many studies on the spatial distribution of GBs and GSs, but relevant studies exploring the spatial relationship between GBs and GSs are lacking. The research questions were: whether GBs are more likely to access GSs than nongreen buildings (NGBs) and whether GBs with higher certification levels are more likely to access GSs. In this study, we used Texas and its four major cities (Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio) as case studies to compare the availability and accessibility of GSs to GBs (certified by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, LEED by U.S. Green Building Council) and NGBs. The study was conducted using spatial analysis tools in a geographic information system (GIS) to explore the spatial distribution of GBs and quantify the availability and accessibility of GSs in a comparison of GBs and NGBs and different GB certification levels. The study found that GBs in each city showed uneven distribution with multicore distribution. In addition, the availability and accessibility of GSs for GBs are lower than for NGBs, and the ability to obtain GSs does not increase with higher GB certification levels. This is because many GBs are located in areas far from the city center or in small cities around large cities where there are few GSs available, resulting in a mismatch in the distribution of GBs and GSs. The study also reviewed the certification manuals and found that LEED has regulated GSs at the city and community levels, yet has ignored them at the building level, and thus further suggests specific improvements. This study provides references and suggestions for adding GSs to the certification content, helping policymakers to optimize future efforts to improve GB certification programs and contributing to the eventual greater role of GBs and GSs together in urban SDGs.