The role of race in configuring park use: a political ecology perspective

UnrestrictedLeisure researchers have found that park users in the United States are predominantly White. They attribute ethno-racial variations in park use to socio-demographic factors (e.g. class, age, gender and race / ethnicity). But park visitation and use might also be shaped by socio-spatial factors (e.g. the inequitable distribution of parks within cities). Geographers have infrequently studied parks, and seldom examined how people use parks. This dissertation examines geographic explanations for racially differentiated park use, from the perspectives of political ecology, environmental justice, and cultural landscape. These analytical vantage points redirect attention from park users to the historical, socio-ecological and political-economic processes that operate through, and in turn configure park spaces. They point to socio-spatial causes for racially differentiated park use.; Using a case study approach I investigate historical and contemporary processes of racialization that have shaped park development in Los Angeles. I apply a political ecology perspective to trace some of the political, economic, ecological and institutional factors from the late 1920s onwards that resulted in the development of the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area. I attempt to deepen the understanding of how local greenspace allocation, poverty, race and political power are oftentimes complexly entangled. I also consider how urban national parks, designed in the 1970s to bring nature and recreational opportunities to disadvantaged communities, may actually reproduce environmental inequities. Here I discuss my study of visitors to Los Angeles' Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area -- the United States' largest urban national park. I found that park visitors were predominantly White, affluent, and lived nearby. People of color traveled further, were significantly less likely to be return visitors and were less inclined to use the park for active recreation. My findings suggest that the park fails to meet the needs of socially disadvantaged and vulnerable urban communities.; Finally, I investigate some factors responsible for the non-use of parks in Los Angeles, focusing on how Latinos perceive the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA). Although leisure researchers identify four types of constraint that may be responsible for the non-use of parks (personal, social, structural, and institutional), they have neglected spatial constraints (e.g. park characteristics, distance, land use, etc.). Using focus groups I examined the constraints experienced by Latinos living close to the park. I found that some Latinos perceive the park to be difficult to access and unwelcoming. Features of the park and adjacent neighborhoods appear impede park access for Latinos.; My research suggests that some parks in Los Angeles may be racialized landscapes. Park management agencies should modify their outreach programs to address spatial constraints to park use and to remedy inequities associated with inferior park access