Page 1 |
Save page Remove page | Previous | 1 of 242 | Next |
|
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
large ( > 500x500)
Full Resolution
All (PDF)
|
This page
All
Subset |
THE ROLE OF RACE IN CONFIGURING PARK USE:
A POLITICAL ECOLOGY PERSPECTIVE
by
Jason Antony Byrne
____________________________________________________________________
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(GEOGRAPHY)
December 2007
Copyright 2007 Jason Antony Byrne
Object Description
| Title | The role of race in configuring park use: a political ecology perspective |
| Author | Byrne, Jason Antony |
| Author email | Jason.Byrne@griffith.edu.au |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Geography |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-09-07 |
| Date submitted | 2007 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2007-10-09 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Wolch, Jennifer |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Pulido, Laura Ethington, Philip |
| Abstract | Leisure 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. |
| Keyword | urban parks; national parks; political ecology; race; nature; landscape; environmental justice; Baldwin Hills; Santa Monica Mountains; Los Angeles |
| Geographic subject | mountains: Baldwin Hills; mountains: Santa Monica Mountains; parks: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area |
| Geographic subject (county) | Ventura; Los Angeles |
| Geographic subject (state) | California |
| Geographic subject (country) | USA |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m856 |
| Rights | Byrne, Jason Antony |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | http://www.usc.edu/isd/libraries/services/ask_a_librarian/email/ |
| Filename | etd-Byrne-20071009 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume29/etd-Byrne-20071009.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 1 |
| Full text | THE ROLE OF RACE IN CONFIGURING PARK USE: A POLITICAL ECOLOGY PERSPECTIVE by Jason Antony Byrne ____________________________________________________________________ A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (GEOGRAPHY) December 2007 Copyright 2007 Jason Antony Byrne |
Comments
Post a Comment for Page 1
