Who are marginalized in accessing urban ecosystem services? A systematic literature review

Urban ecosystems provide many crucial services to cities and their residents, particularly in adapting to the effects of climate change. Extensive research has been conducted in this field, covering various aspects of ecosystem services. However, little is known about issues related to the limited access to these ecosystem services, particularly among marginalized populations. This review systematically screened 3961 papers and synthesized findings from 98 papers to identify groups that are marginalized in terms of access to urban ecosystem services and provide policy measures to address the issue. We conducted an inductive content analysis and thematic analysis to review the literature comprehensively. Our findings revealed that marginalization is more prevalent in cultural ecosystem services (51 %) than in other ecosystem service types. The results also show that vulnerable populations, including minorities, low-income populations, physically challenged people, children/young people/students, older people, and migrants, are particularly marginalized. Among these groups, minorities (24 %) emerged as the most extensively studied category. Additionally, we identified a marginalized group labeled as 'generic,' consisting of individuals whose identities did not neatly fit within the previously defined groups or were mentioned across multiple groups simultaneously.The marginalization across all these groups stems from income disparities, cultural norms, racial and ethnic considerations, willingness to visit, age-related disparities, physical disabilities, and geographical location. Importantly, our study underscores the adverse effects of marginalization on these groups, leading to health disparities, lower quality of life, and reduced resilience to climate change. In light of these findings, we also spotlight policies from the literature such as inclusive urban planning, community engagement initiatives, and financial support aimed at ensuring more equitable access to urban ecosystem services.