The Changing Geography of National Parks and Protected Areas

These places can be studied with reference to their physical environments, the management of their plant and animal life, which places are to be protected, who visits these places (and who does not, and why not), and how we think of these places. This book contains recent geographic work examining the changing geography of protected areas in the U.S. and Europe. These places can be national parks, forests, or other places that are being protected for their significant aesthetic, historical, or environmental values by governments and communities. These places can be studied with reference to their physical environments, the management of their plant and animal life, which places are to be protected, who visits these places (and who does not, and why not), and how we think of these places. This work includes examinations of many parks and issues that affect them, such as land degradation, the social and political geography involved in creating new national park units, visitation by underserved segments of the population, and the changing names of protected areas. It makes use of work using methods and data as diverse as remote sensing, nineteenth survey plats and GIS, and online visitor surveys.