Liana Smale

RESEARCH ABSTRACT: A history of racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in access to public parks in U.S. cities has been well-documented. Ample evidence also exists of collaborative governance in which neighborhood residents help to develop and steward local parks and green spaces. Here, we describe a case study of three public park locations in the Bronx, a borough of New York City that faces multiple environmental injustices. We selected locations that vary in size, management structure, and organizational network structure: Van Cortlandt Park, a network of three Bronx River parks, and Seton Falls Park. We used participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and social network analysis to examine how the collaborative networks of Bronx parks affect the local communities’ sense of ownership of and decision-making power over the spaces. We analyzed governance networks and stewardship through a procedural environmental justice lens, leading to implications for researchers, policymakers, and planners. We describe eight core themes that delve into the complexity of the co-governance networks, finding that the capacity to care for public space and engage in local advocacy relies heavily upon a groups’ ability to form reciprocal partnerships.