Right to Roam vs. Property Rights: Historical Antecedents to the Politics of Accessing to Nature

• In Event: The Importance of Historical Precedent in Modern Politics

Abstract

Walking is the most basic form of locomotion and has been the primary source of transportation for most of human history. Yet in the modern world, there are several barriers to walking that are directly related to political decisions, including physical limitations, racial and ethnic discrimination, and threats of gender violence. In understanding the background to these limitations, we can also discern how the rights and/or privileges to who can access nature have evolved. This paper, which is part of a larger project, uses a case study approach to understand public access to undeveloped lands. Everyman’s Right, also known as “the right to roam,” is enshrined in several Nordic countries. It ensures that people have the right to access the countryside for the purpose of recreation, including the gathering of food, without regard to property ownership. With this access comes responsibility; one cannot damage property or create a disturbance. Alternatively, a legal and cultural emphasis on property rights, such as in England and Wales, creates the need to set aside lands for public access. Meanwhile, in the United States, although the country’s early ethic was to encourage open access to undeveloped lands, trespass laws developed as a reaction to economic and racial politics after the Civil War. As such, the paper concludes that historical forces and events offer interpretations about public access to undeveloped lands in the present.

Author

• Mark Sachleben, Shippensburg University