Equitable visitation of national parks : shedding light on community partner perspectives to improve park planning for all

Abstract

This research provides a deep dive into the lives of community organization leaders and National Park Service staff who work to promote diversity outdoors through hiking programs, the arts, advocacy, and more. The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (outside of Los Angeles California) is used as a case study to research the successes and challenges for more equitably distributing park's positive impacts on health and well-being to its adjacent communities. This research inquires questions around sense of belonging, feeling welcome, and other factors that might impact one's experience outdoors. Qualitative interviews with community organizations and NPS staff shed light on successes and challenges to reaching their goals of bringing more diverse groups to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SAMO). This research culminates with park planning recommendations to make national park units more equitably visited and enjoyed by all. Before diving into the case study at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, an overview of current literature explains why promoting diversity outdoors is important and why it can sometimes be a challenging task.