Abstract
Numerous early environmental justice studies found a positive correlation between minority populations and exposure to toxins, air pollution, and other contaminants. More recent scholarship expanded the field of environmental justice to include the connection between race and unequal access to environmental amenities, such as parks, trees, and green spaces. This study builds on the more recent scholarship by testing the relationship between public parking availability and beach usage rates for people of color (POC). The study makes use of parking availability data and a novel demographic beach survey to explore the connection between race and beach access along a 20-kilometer stretch of beach in Palm Beach County, Florida. Beach surveys were conducted using the SOPARC (System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities) methodology over 5 consecutive days (March 7 to 11, 2020). The study finds that in general parking limitations significantly reduce beach usage and disproportionately impact beach usage for POC.
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