Belonging and Welcomeness in State and Community Parks: Visitation Impacts and Strategies for Advancing Environmental Justice

Feeling unwelcome in parks can serve as a constraint to visitation, and unjust historical and contemporary events occurring on park lands (e.g., segregation, redlining, racial violence) can perpetuate a legacy of exclusion, undermining the ability for diverse visitors to feel a sense of belonging. However, there has been limited quantitative assessment or comparison of welcomeness or belonging in different park contexts. We compared welcomeness and belonging at community and state parks by race/ethnicity; examined the relationships between welcomeness, belonging, and park visitation; and explored ways to increase welcomeness. Data were collected via Qualtrics panel surveys. We found significant racial/ethnic differences in welcomeness and belonging at state parks, but not community parks. Welcomeness and belonging were positive predictors of state park visitation, with belonging also a positive predictor of community park visitation. We discuss management implications for increasing welcomeness and belonging in state parks and other wildland recreation contexts.