Making the Outdoors More Inclusive

America’s national and state parks have often been utilized by majority white populations. The assumption that the outdoors are a space for white, able-bodied people who have resources and time continues to influence who uses green space. In the REI funded piece created by the Atlantic, “Five Ways to Make the Outdoors More Inclusive,” it is reported that about 78 percent of federal parks visitors are white. Further, many communities reported feeling unwelcome or unsafe in the outdoors including women and Black, Latino, and LGBTQ populations. “Five Ways to Make the Outdoors More Inclusive” includes solutions and actionable steps to address issues of accessibility and feelings of being unwelcome. 

The contributors to this piece are from a wide range of backgrounds:

• Brooklyn Bell is an athlete and artist who advocates for women in outdoor sports. She is one of the founding members of The Kona Supremes Ambassador Program through the Kona Bike Shop.
• Perry Cohen is the executive director of The Venture Out Project which facilitates outdoors activities and trips for queer and trans communities.
• Laura Cole is the owner of 229 Parks Restaurant at Alaska’s Denali National Park.
• Angelou Ezeilo is the CEO & Founder of The Greening Youth Foundation which seeks to connect underrepresented youths to the outdoors.
• Carolyn Finney authored Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors where she examines the racialization of the great outdoors. Her related work ranges from articles to podcasts to talks. 
• Jose Gonzalez is the founder and director of Latino Outdoors, which inspires, connects, and engages Latino communities in the outdoors.
• Caryl Hart is the former director of Sonoma County Regional Parks.
• Len Necefer is an assistant professor for the American Indian Studies Program and the Udall Center for Public Policy at the University of Arizona.
• Ken Salazar is the former U.S. Secretary of the Interior and law partner at WilmerHale.
• Michael Woo is the dean of the College of Environmental Design at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Within the piece, there are five primary steps with a bonus sixth step at the end. Each of the steps contain action items and suggestions on where responsibility for implementation might lie. To illustrate, step four is to increase economic accessibility to create more access points for all. There are many costs associated with the recreational outdoors such as expensive outdoor gear, park entrance fees, and travel costs. To alleviate these issues, it is suggested that:

• Park administrators approach ride-share companies, city transit authorities, and charter bus companies to subsidize free transportation options for low-income families.
• Park leaders host architectural competitions to solicit innovative ideas and create more attractive, affordable housing to decrease overall travel costs for visitors. 
• Park services offer free admission for first-timers or tax write offs for camping and park entrance fees to introduce people to the parks and communicate the value of these types of outings to individuals of all income levels.

These actions would be executed by both parks administrators and partnerships between parks services and other organizations and companies. The hope is to make the outdoors more appealing to a broader range of people with the implementation of these ideas. See the full article for the other steps. 

A big challenge of making the outdoors more inclusive is transforming cultural values and beliefs commonly associated with the outdoors. Changing the perception and the experience people have in the outdoors requires solutions that reimagine how people use parks and who they serve. Partnerships between parks agencies, private corporations, nonprofit organizations, investors, and the public are all needed to help more people feel like they belong in these spaces. This piece serves as a way to start and continue this work.