Predicting the Social Impacts of Restoration in an Urban Park

Analysis of potential impacts of a proposed salt marsh restoration in West River Memorial Park (New Haven, Connecticut) on surrounding human communities was conducted using resident surveys and behavioral sampling along the West River, a literature survey of recreational trends and behavior, and a geographic information system (GIS) of biophysical and demographic features. Current and potential use and perceptions of West River Memorial Park are influenced by physical and social barriers to access, but the demographics of human communities around the park are not the central factor barring use. Rather, physical barriers and the arrangement of residential and nonresidential space, roads with busy traffic, and municipal boundaries are among the main reasons for the park’s current state. Large, strip-like areas such as West River Memorial Park that are distant from downtown and blocked by busy roads are easily abandoned. Current barriers to use will not vanish by restoring the salt marsh alone. However, well-planned attempts to ameliorate the effects of barriers, as part of the restoration can act as a catalyst for generating greater local and regional use of the area. The diversity of communities within a relatively small geographical area and the regional, multi-use potential of West River Memorial Park suggest that the area could attract a varied collection of users to sustain and enliven the park and the surrounding landscape. If the initial investment of resources and time is to generate sustainable use of the area, careful attention and effort must be invested in removing barriers to access. Predicting the Social Impacts of Restoration in an Urban Park Christina G. Page Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies West River Memorial Park, a 200-acre public open space in New Haven, Connecticut, boasts a rich historical past and stunning natural beauty within its boundaries. The park holds tremendous potential to become the kind of place that landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted believed all urban parks should be (and what his son intended when he recommended the park’s creation) – a place of recreation and public enjoyment for a diverse and democratic body of people. Instead, it is an underutilized resource, plagued by physical, social, and political barriers. It is invisible to the vast majority of people living and traveling around its borders; its existence and location are a mystery to many. Incidents of murder associated with the park hang heavy in the public imagination and create an image of a sinister and crime-ridden place. Instead of being a resource and benefit to all, the park attracts only a few loyal users. For the rest, the area is a black hole sitting squarely along the border between West Haven and New Haven (Fig. 1).