Located in Alameda County and Contra Costa County, California (San Francisco) the East Bay Parks System was established in 1928 when 10,000 acres of former watershed lands were declared public by the East Bay Metropolitan Utility District. This area is surrounded by open space but civic leaders felt it necessary to set the land aside for public recreational use so that it could never be developed. Today, the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) consists of nearly 100,000 acres comprised of 14 regional parks, 19 regional preserves, 9 regional recreation areas and 13 regional shorelines, making it the largest regional park system in the United States (Kibel, 2007, 1).
According to the EBRPD Master Plan 2011, there is a park located within thirty minutes of every East Bay resident’s home, and the park system claims that they encourage usage by providing parking facilities at every park and trail head and by encouraging and supporting public transportation. However, when surveyed, close to twenty percent of residents disagreed with the statement that “social equity is a core value to the EBRPD; clearly the District is well known for making a concerted effort to accommodate the needs and desires of ALL levels of income and ALL ethnic groups who reside in Alameda and Contra Costa counties” (5).
Most of the regional parks and preserves are located in the East Bay hillsides, which comprises more than 75% of the agency’s parks. This is important to note because of the demographics of East Bay in regards to race and income levels.
When looking at both counties, Alameda is 41% white with an overall population of 1.5 million people. Contra Costa County is slightly smaller with 1 million people and is 58% white. Both of these counties are similar though in that the hillside communities are more like the county averages while the flatland communities tend to have more minorities than average. For example, the city of Richmond lies in the flatlands near the San Francisco Bay. In 2000 it was 44% African American and 15% Latino with more than 13% of its population living below the poverty level. It also has the highest percentage of youth living below the poverty level in Contra Costa County (Kibel, 2007, 23). These numbers are important when looking at park distribution on the two counties.
Finally, park usage is also consistent with these demographics. In the 2004 report Parks, People and Change: Ethnic Diversity and Its Significance for Parks, Recreation and Open Space Conservation in the San Francisco Bay Area (2004 Parks People and Change Report), the Bay Area Open Space Council looked at the racial mix of weekend users at Redwood Regional Park (Alameda hillsides), Briones Regional Park (Contra Costa hillsides), and Point Pinole Regional Shoreline (near the city of Richmond). The following charts show their findings during a typical 24-hour period:
In the case of Point Pinole, despite the close location to the impoverished minority neighborhood of Richmond, trends still show that whites are the primary users. This is due to the physical barriers that block Richmond residents from access to the park without the use of a car. Old industry, rail lines and the highway stand between Richmond residents and the park and unfortunately, most in the community cannot afford the use of a car and public transportation adds the element of time to get there which is a detractor for most.
The agency is aware of these access problems and has taken steps to remedy them. One initiative is the Parks Express program. Funded by the Regional Parks Foundation, a local nonprofit in Oakland, the program provides transportation for children in under-privileged neighborhoods so they can participate in youth programs offered by East Bay Parks (Kibel, 2007, 30).
In addition to this there are also numerous references to equity in agency documents. Both East Bay Park’s 1997 Master Plan and East Bay Parks’ 2006 Budget state: “The East Bay Regional Park District will achieve its vision in the following ways…Improve access to and use of the parks by members of groups that have been underrepresented, such as disabled, economically disadvantaged, and elderly visitors” (10; 1).
Today, because of continued urbanization, the need for a regional system of publicly owned open space areas, recreational facilities and trails is even greater than it was when the District was originally established. And times are still uncertain. Like other public agencies, the District continually faces the potential loss of essential revenues, while the demand for recreational areas, facilities, programs and services continues to grow. Economic uncertainty, population growth, the increased ethnic and cultural diversity of the East Bay, improved scientific knowledge in natural and cultural resource management, and land use changes that could create new Regional Parks in urban areas are among the key challenges that will shape the East Bay Regional Park District of the future.
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