Narratives in Nature: Black, Indigenous, and Latinx Inclusion in Public Natural Areas
Date
2021-06-13
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Abstract
Black, Indigenous, and Latinx folx face many barriers when trying to access public
natural areas. Park managers, designers, city staff, and community organizations can
build a more equitable future for our public natural areas by listening to the experiences
of those from marginalized communities and building mutually beneficial relationships
with them. On-site observations, visitor surveys, interviews and focus groups
provided insights into cultural barriers that Black, Indigenous, and Latinx folx face in
the outdoors, and the foundations for a toolkit that begins to address those barriers. By
focusing on the ideas and experiences of local individuals who self-identify as Black,
Indigenous, or Latinx as the generative force for solutions, the process and resultant
toolkit offer tangible steps that can be broadly applied to public natural areas within
North America, with specific application to the Howard Buford Recreation Area and Mt.
Pisgah in Eugene, Oregon as a case study. Five main barriers (exclusion, poor accommodations,
staff representation, racism, and safety) and eighteen sub-barriers were
identified through interviews. Subsequent focus groups generated thirty-four action
items to address these barriers, which were then organized into three types, community,
educational, and administrative, to create a toolkit for any public or community organization
to utilize. The community engagement and research methods of this project
demonstrate an approach that bridges from community brainstorming and storytelling
to recommend actionable items to enhance diversity, inequity, and inclusion within
public natural areas for Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities.
Description
162 pages. Committee chair: Bart Johnson
Keywords
Public Natural Area, outdoor recreation, BIPOC, Barriers, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Social justice, Race, POC, equity toolkit, Racial Equity, Environmental Justice