The aim of this thesis is to investigate immigrant youths’ experiences of accessibility of urban greenspaces (UGS) and how these spaces meet the needs and preferences of this user group. The case study takes on an explorative approach based on interviews and participant observations. Environmental justice and sense of place theory constitute the research framework and permeate the study from research design throughout to the conslusions. Environmental justice theory has been applied earlier in studies of accessibility of UGS among different social groups, mostly on issues of environmental bads. However, no previous research has treated these issues in combination with a sense of place framework. This study contributes to the UGS accessibility research by illuminating the subjective experiences of the urban nature in familiar environments. The results from this study depict how factors other than the physical presence of UGS - such as social networks for local knowledge, previous nature images and feelings of familiarity with the surroundings - affect the perception of how well UGS meet one’s need and desiers.

In this thesis, the public green space provision in Hamburg, Germany is critically examined and put into context by social indicators relating to social class and ethnic background.  Urban green spaces offer a variety of benefits for citizens, ranging from recreation, improving physical and mental health, contribution to urban cooling and climate adaptation as well as providing spaces for biodiversity. Yet, provision and access to public green space is not always equal. This is reflected in the concept of urban environmental justice, which acknowledges that not all societal groups equally benefit from environmental services nor are equally affected by the burdens of environmental pollution. Urban environmental justice is used in this thesis to holistically assess public green space provision, from a distributive, procedural and corrective justice dimension. These dimensions relate to how public green space is distributed in the city, how policies surrounding green space incorporate urban environmental justice concerns, and lastly what measures are in place for correcting potential injustices. The thesis employs a mixed method approach. Critical mapping through QGIS was applied to showcase the distribution and proximity to public green space in the various neighbourhoods in Hamburg. Following this, a policy analysis was performed to investigate the procedural justice dimension. Lastly, semi-structured interviews with five planners and two activists were conducted to illuminate measures for correcting urban environmental injustices related to green space provision. The findings suggest that public green space is not evenly distributed, and issues of access exist in Hamburg. Procedural justice is not fully achieved as a legal framework for urban environmental justice is lacking and the existing policies do not consider the concept adequately. Simultaneously, both supporting and hindering measures for correcting urban environmental injustices exist and corrective justice is not fully achieved either. Overall, the discourse surrounding urban environmental justice should be advanced in Germany and more awareness needs to be raised.