COVID-19’s Impact on Visitation Behavior to US National Parks From Communities of Color - Evidence From Mobile Phone Data

The widespread COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed many people’s ways of life. With the necessity of social distancing and lock downs across the United States, evidence shows more people engage in outdoor activities. With the utilization of location-based service (LBS) data, we seek to explore how visitation patterns to national parks changed among communities of color during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results show that visitation rates to national parks located closer than 347km to individuals have increased amidst the pandemic, but the converse was demonstrated amongst parks located further than 347km from individuals. More importantly, COVID-19 has adversely impacted visitation figures amongst non-white and Native American communities, with visitation volumes declining if these communities are situated further from national parks. Our results show disproportionately low-representations amongst national park visitors from these communities of color. African American communities display a particularly concerning trend whereby their visitation to national parks is substantially lower amongst communities closer to national parks.

Heritage Naturecultures

This chapter considers the threats posed to heritage sites by anthropogenic change. Anthropocene changes confront researchers and communities alike with a collapse in distinctions between cultural and natural heritage. Examples include a recent novel, the climate strategy of the US National Parks, the material memory of the Lapland War in northern Finland, and intangible landscapes in South Asian video games that offer players an immersive encounter with aerial species (e.g. birds, insects) and mythological beings.

COVID-19's impact on visitation behavior to US national parks from communities of color - Evidence from mobile phone data

The widespread COVID-19 pandemic changed the fundamentals of people's way of life. With the necessity of social distancing and lock downs across the United States, evidence shows more people engage in outdoor activities. With the utilization of location-based service data, we seek to explore how visitation patterns to national parks have changed from distinct communities of color amidst the COVID- 19 pandemic. Our results show that visitation rates to national parks located closer than 353km have increased amidst the pandemic, but the converse was demonstrated amongst parks located further than 353km. More importantly, COVID-19 has adversely impacted visitation figures amongst non-white and Native American communities, with visitation volumes worsening if these communities are situated further from national parks. Our results show disproportionate representations amongst national park visitors from these communities of color. African American communities display a particularly concerning trend whereby their visitation to national parks is significantly lower amongst communities closer to national parks.