Restoring Degraded Lands to Advance Park Equity and Environmental Justice

Degraded lands are often found in areas that have the most environmental burdens with respect to groundwater threat, hazardous waste, poor air quality, pollution burden, etc. These lands include properties occupied by abandoned, redundant, or unwanted infrastructure, such as decommissioned landfills, oil wells, rail yards, utility corridors, airports, and power plants. In Los Angeles County, many of the most environmentally burdened communities are also the most park poor per the Countywide Parks Needs Assessment and the most climate-vulnerable per the County Climate Vulnerability Assessment.  

In locations where environmental burdens are concentrated and impactful land uses are defunct, multiple benefits can be derived from restoration projects like new parks that address residual pollution and unhealthy conditions, restore natural systems, and provide enhanced recreational opportunities for residents. In this article, park planner Clement Lau argues for an equity-based conservation and restoration approach that prioritizes and focuses funding and other resources to acquire, clean up, and reclaim degraded lands for park use in the communities that have the most environmental burdens.