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Pomona is a city in Southern California, located in the county of Los Angeles. As of the 2010 United States Census, its area is small in size with only 22.95 square miles and a population of 149,058, which means that for every square mile; 6494.3 people reside there. Parks possess four virtues that have the ability in transforming a flawed society and bringing out the good in a community. These virtues are public health, prosperity, democratic equality, and social coherence (Young, 2004). These virtues are important because parks encourage exercise of many different forms and eliminate isolation of social and ethnic groups. Parks also bring in people outside of the community and this is good for the local economy because people tend to buy products from the local businesses nearby.

"[According to Frederick] Olmsted, [a park is something] different from civilization and urbanity. In it's 'open, free, and tranquil character,' it provided the city with 'an antithesis to its bustling, paved, rectangular, walled-in streets'...As well as nature's creation, Olmsted envisaged the park as a social structure, and, more significantly, as a place where society could be, if not perfected, atleast improved" (Jones & Wills, 2005). With only 27 parks in Pomona, it is crucial that the factors influencing park usage are understood so that these parks are properly utilized by the local community for which these green spaces were created for. There are many factors that influence park use and they will be grouped into three categories: accessibility, area, and aesthetics. Three parks were chosen to be apart of this study. Based on observation and surveying people at these parks, the goal was to find out if accessibility, area, and aesthetics influence park use. Upon conducting this research, the end result is to figure out if these factors matter to park goers and what areas need improvement. With an understanding of what influences people to use these parks and the areas needing improvement, this will hopefully not only increase community engagement with these specific chosen sights, but also provide further insight as to how other parks in Pomona should be taken into consideration for how they provide for their community. 

Map Created by: Angeline Loustau

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