KangJae “Jerry” Lee, associate professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism, has received the 2026 Leisure Studies Association Outstanding Book Prize for his book, “Violent and Verdant: Systemic Injustice in Public Parks in the U.S.” The Leisure Studies Association announced Lee as the prize winner on July 28, 2026.

Published by Routledge in 2025, “Violent and Verdant” challenges conventional views of public parks as inherently democratic and equitable spaces. Drawing from sociology, history, geography, urban planning, environmental science and leisure studies, Lee examines how the development and management of U.S. parks have been intertwined with displacement, discrimination, oppression and other systemic injustices. The book also looks forward, considering strategies for creating and managing parks in more just and inclusive ways.

The recognition is particularly meaningful to Lee because of the Leisure Studies Association’s international community of scholars and its emphasis on critical and rigorous research. The award adds to the growing international attention surrounding “Violent and Verdant,” which has sparked conversations about public parks, health, history and social and environmental justice.