The Parks Belong to the People: The Geography of the National Park System [Hardcover]

Joe Weber (Author)
JOE WEBER is professor of geography at the University of Alabama. He is the author of Mapping Historical Las Vegas: A Cartographic Journey.

Selima Sultana (Author)
SELIMA SULTANA is professor and director of Graduate Studies of Geography at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Her work has appeared in leading journals including the Annals of the Association of American Geographers, The Professional Geographer, Journal of Transport Geography, Transport Policy, Tourism Geographies, Urban Geography, Urban Studies, Growth & Change, and Southeastern Geographer.

In examining the 424 units of the U.S. national park system, geographers Joe Weber and Selima Sultana focus attention on the historical geography of the system as well as its present distribution, covering the diversity of places under the control of the National Park Service (NPS). This includes the famous national parks such as the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Yosemite and the lesser-known national monuments, memorials, lakeshores, seashores, rivers, recreation areas, preserves, reserves, parkways, historic sites, historic parks, and a range of battlefields, as well as more than twenty additional sites not fitting into any of these categories (such as the White House).

The geographic view of The Parks Belong to the People sets it apart from others that have taken a solely historical approach. Where parks are located, what they are near, where their visitors come from, and how land use and activities are organized within parks are some of the fundamental issues discussed. The majority of units in the NPS are devoted to recreation areas or historlƒ%