Accounting for diversity: Exploring the inclusivity of recreation planning in the United Kingdom's protected areas

Protected areas (PAs) deliver a wide variety of benefits to visitors including mental and physical health, environmental knowledge, and a sense of community. Unfortunately, many barriers have led to the underrepresentation of several socio-demographic groups within PAs (e.g., minority ethnic groups, those with disabilities). In the UK, a clear national mandate exists for designing more accessible outdoor spaces, but despite a growing understanding of the access barriers experienced by underrepresented groups, the institutional factors contributing to these barriers remain underexplored. To help alleviate this gap, we examined governing documents for UK PAs and surveyed PA managers to explore links between PA management approaches in the UK and access disparities. We found that diversity and inclusion objectives were seldom emphasized within management plans, yet most PA managers held clear concerns about the underrepresentation of several groups. We also identified several shortcomings in PA management that could impede the achievement of diversity targets. Most notably, PA organizations seldom targeted minority ethnic groups and rarely placed purposeful emphasis on the delivery of social benefits, instead prioritizing environmental knowledge which they most often linked to environmentalism. These findings reflect the Anglo-normative lens that has historically governed PA management in the UK. To fully embrace national diversity objectives, PA organizations should explicitly prioritize diversity and inclusion and integrate alternative worldviews related to the human-nature relationship.

Automated summary

Protected areas provide various benefits to visitors, but barriers have led to the underrepresentation of certain socio-demographic groups. In the UK, there is a national mandate for designing more accessible outdoor spaces, but the institutional factors contributing to access disparities are not well explored. This study examines governing documents for UK protected areas and surveys managers to explore the links between management approaches and access disparities. The findings highlight the need for explicit prioritization of diversity and inclusion in order to fully embrace national diversity objectives.