TY - JOUR
T1 - The impact of spatial accessibility and perceived barriers on visitation to the US national park system
AU - Xiao, Xiao
AU - Aultman-Hall, Lisa
AU - Manning, Robert
AU - Voigt, Brian
N1 - Funding Information:
This project and original data collection were funded by the National Park Service ( H8W07110001 ) and a USDOT UTC grant to the University of Vermont Transportation Research Center through the National Center for Sustainable Transportation. The Graduate College of the University of Vermont provided graduate student support as cost share.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2018/4
Y1 - 2018/4
N2 - Visits to the US national park system continue to increase, but racial/ethnic minorities are consistently underrepresented among national park visitors compared to Whites. Research suggests several reasons for historic underrepresentation of racial/ethnic minorities, including limited spatial accessibility, marginality, subcultural differences, and discrimination. This study uses spatial analysis of survey data collected in a range of geographic locations across the US, to assess the spatial accessibility of three racial/ethnic groups to units of the national park system. The study also considers the relationships between spatial accessibility and measures of marginality, subculture, and discrimination. Results show that access to national parks varies greatly between geographic areas: residents of large metropolitan areas have better access to units of the national park system than residents of rural areas. The effect of spatial accessibility on visitation varies among racial/ethnic groups. The study also highlights the importance of culturally-oriented parks, provides information about park accessibility in order to enhance relevancy, and informs management strategies that can encourage visitation across different geographic areas and more diverse populations.
AB - Visits to the US national park system continue to increase, but racial/ethnic minorities are consistently underrepresented among national park visitors compared to Whites. Research suggests several reasons for historic underrepresentation of racial/ethnic minorities, including limited spatial accessibility, marginality, subcultural differences, and discrimination. This study uses spatial analysis of survey data collected in a range of geographic locations across the US, to assess the spatial accessibility of three racial/ethnic groups to units of the national park system. The study also considers the relationships between spatial accessibility and measures of marginality, subculture, and discrimination. Results show that access to national parks varies greatly between geographic areas: residents of large metropolitan areas have better access to units of the national park system than residents of rural areas. The effect of spatial accessibility on visitation varies among racial/ethnic groups. The study also highlights the importance of culturally-oriented parks, provides information about park accessibility in order to enhance relevancy, and informs management strategies that can encourage visitation across different geographic areas and more diverse populations.
KW - National parks
KW - Perceive barriers
KW - Population weighted distance
KW - Racial/Ethnic minority group
KW - Spatial accessibility
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2018.03.012
DO - 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2018.03.012
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85044973591
SN - 0966-6923
VL - 68
SP - 205
EP - 214
JO - Journal of Transport Geography
JF - Journal of Transport Geography
ER -