This paper takes a critical look at a series of explanations for lack of park use by people of color, and suggests that they inadequately consider how historical, cultural, and political factors like Jim Crow-era segregation, historical zoning and property taxes, and the current design and conception of parks that cater to a mainly White ideal of “wild nature” set up unseen barriers to people of color. This "cultural politics" lens is applied to analysis of a Latino focus group's experience in Los Angeles urban parks, including the largest urban national park in the country, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA).
The traditional “constraints” to outdoor recreation developed by leisure researchers are discussed, including personal/internal (i.e. lack of motivation or interest, disability, fear), social (such as family obligations or lack of companions to go with), structural (lack of time, money, or transport), and institutional constraints (programs or rules that don't accommodate certain groups). The literature on how park appearances, park accessibility (including barriers like highways), park supply, park activities (like dog-walking, which might frighten some users), and perceived safety all can influence the use of a park are also reviewed.
This article questions the characterization of different ethnic and racial groups as having different preferences that limit their outdoor recreation in less developed areas–such as purported Latino preferences for sports or picnicking versus White preferences for solitary hiking outdoors. Contrary to this assumption, many focus group participants in this study reported a strong affinity for high-quality natural places and for activities like hiking, camping, and taking their children to parks to learn about nature. Some of them expressed strong environmental values and emphasized the importance of active recreation. Although childhood experiences in nature were found to play a significant role in their attraction to nature, this study suggests that lower park visitation in Latinos cannot be solely explained by differing environmental values. Participants reported that they were limited by barriers like time constraints, distance, or expense of getting to a park by public transportation as well as by lack of Spanish-language information and safety concerns in more urban parks. But they were also less likely to visit places like SMMNRA because they perceived them as “wealthy,” “American,” “Whites-only” places where they might be unwelcome outsiders. Indeed, a number of participants were not even sure if they were allowed into the private communities that provided access to the national park, and were worried about not knowing the behavioral norms in such places.
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