Cultural Competency In Parks Programming And Design: Understanding Park Users And Their Needs with Kyra Gmoser-Daskalakis and Britta McOmber

In this episode, Joy McFadden and Garrett Johnson interview Kyra Gmoser-Daskalakis and Britta McOmber who wrote a report on park usership for the Santa Monica National Park. They discuss the importance of understanding the diverse backgrounds  and needs of park goers and the various barriers that prevent lower income residents from utilizing and enjoying parks and open space. Tune in to hear the full conversation on the importance of access and representation!

Highlights from the Conversation:

• Urban Planning and Park Equity
• Defining cultural competency
• Inequitable access and disparate health outcomes
• Bottom up and community driven approaches to increase equity
• Design for inclusivity - importance of language and signage 
• Community members as innovators and planners
• Diversity, staffing, and representation 
• Understanding park users: demographics, use of parks, state of trails
• Car-centric and auto-dependent region

Guest Mini Bio:

• Kyra Gmoser-Daskalakis is a PhD student at UC Davis
  
  • She previously worked for the UCLA Luskin Center doing research on water equity, affordability, and park access and equity
  • Learn more about her here
• Britta McOmber is a project manager at the UCLA Luskin Center 
  
  • She has a background in geography and regional urban planning
• Check out her thesis project “What’s the Dam Problem?”

Learn More!

• Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area
  
  • Is the largest urban national park system in the country
• Results of the 2018 Visitor Survey and Visitor Count in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
  
  • The report that inspired this interview
• Understanding the Needs of Diverse Park Users
  
  • The briefing paper that breaks down the above report

Credits:  

Special thanks to Kyra Gmoser-Daskalakis and Britta McOmber. Research, concept, and voices: Garrett Johnson and Joy McFadden. Intro and Outro voice: Alex Davis. Produced by: Raven Nee.