Climate change is continuing to accelerate and impact communities globally. While not experiencing the most extreme climate impacts, the state of Michigan is taking action to mitigate and adapt to an uncertain future in many ways, one of which is by creating expansive climate action plans. In 2022, we partnered with the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority (HCMA or the Metroparks) to create their own climate action plan (CAP) that complements and extends existing climate action in the region, while addressing Metroparks-specific concerns. HCMA is a regional park district of 13 Metroparks across five counties in Michigan - Livingston, Oakland, Macomb, Wayne, and Washtenaw - and is proximate to two major urban centers - Detroit and Ann Arbor. HCMA provides nearly 25,000 acres of green space with multiple recreation opportunities for the 4.8 million residents of southeastern Michigan. Recognizing their role as leaders in the region for recreation and the well-being of their users, they were driven to create a plan to protect their communities within and beyond park borders.This thesis is couched within this multi-phased project and is organized into four distinct chapters. My findings draw attention to a misalignment between managerial planning efforts, and perceived climate change observations by visitors of the Metroparks. By using a suite of qualitative methods and theoretical frameworks, I aim to address two main research questions: (1) How are climate actions and goals being framed in current planning efforts across southeastern Michigan? and (2) In what ways do community experiences align with and deviate from this current framing? Chapter one provides a comprehensive literature review for this thesis and these two questions. Chapter two addresses question one through a qualitative content analysis of ten CAPs from a co-defined region that intersects with the Metroparks. Using an expanded recreation amenities framework, this chapter discusses the network of climate actions already happening in the region, and presents opportunities to extend climate action further into/across the Metroparks. Chapter three addresses question two by using data gathered from park visitor focus groups. This chapter builds on findings from chapter one, and discusses the important role that water plays, year-round, in the lives of Metropark visitors. Analyzed using a water ecosystem services framework, this focus group chapter conceptualizes water's ability to transcend across settings, scales, and contexts. Chapter four summarizes contributions across the two main research questions and chapters. Overall, this research provides both managerial and theoretical and builds knowledge to bolster climate conversations in southeastern Michigan.
Read
