![]() Site quality such as litter, vandalism, and perceived water conditions impact visitor preferences ( Cox et al., 2006 Lyon et al., 2018). People are more likely to visit salt and fresh waters that are closer to their residence ( Giles-Corti and Donovan, 2002 Cox et al., 2006 Haeffner et al., 2017). Time, cost, transportation, parking availability, and weather can pose barriers to coastal visitation ( García and Baltodano, 2005 Ashbullby et al., 2013 Patrolia et al., 2017). ![]() Several factors influence shoreline access. In addition, many people benefit from fishing and shellfishing for recreational purposes, for subsistence, and to support their livelihoods ( Burger, 2002 Lauber et al., 2017). Coastal and near-coastal residents and visitors receive a variety of physical, psychological, health, and social benefits ( Ashbullby et al., 2013 White et al., 2014 Nutsford et al., 2016 de Bell et al., 2017). This translates to added costs on each trip for areas with higher Black and Latinx populations.Ĭoastal areas are highly valued but are not always equitably accessible. Higher proportions of Black and Latinx populations in census block groups were associated with longer travel distances to public access, in particular to public coastal sites with better water quality and to public swimming beaches. With robust socioeconomic and geographic controls, race and ethnicity remained strongly correlated to travel distance. Our analysis revealed statewide disparities in access to Rhode Island’s public coastal amenities. We used three state-level policy attributes to identify sites with the best water quality: Clean Water Act Section 303(d) impaired waters, shellfishing restrictions, and bacterial beach closure histories. Next, we assessed relative travel distances to high quality public coastal amenities, i.e., sites with no history of water quality impairment. Building on prior coastal and green space access research, we examined different populations’ relative travel distances to all public coastal access and to public marine swimming beaches across the state of Rhode Island, by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomics. Environmental Protection Agency, Gulf Breeze, FL, United StatesĪcross the United States, development, gentrification, and water quality degradation have altered our access to the coasts, redistributing the benefits from those spaces. 3Gulf Ecosystem Measurement and Modeling Division, Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling, Office of Research and Development, U.S.2Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge, TN, United States.Environmental Protection Agency, Narragansett, RI, United States 1Atlantic Coastal Environmental Sciences Division, Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling, Office of Research and Development, U.S.
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