Abstract
We have investigated public preferences for use intensity and visual quality of forest recreational infrastructure. Forest infrastructure covers five classes, along a continuum from unmarked paths to paved walkways. Altogether, 39 sites were categorized into the five classes and measured with automatic counters. A sample of 545 respondents living in southeastern and middle Norway were asked to rate 15 forest scenes and 35 preconceptions of recreational settings. The path scenarios were depicted as digitally calibrated photos that systematically displayed physical path feature in boreal, semi-natural settings. Survey participants showed a clearly greater preference for photos and preconceptions of forests settings containing minor elements of forest infrastructure; unmarked paths received the highest score and forest roads/walkways/bikeways the lowest. We identified a clear mismatch between public preferences for forest infrastructure and the intensity of use; the less appreciated infrastructure was the most used. Planning and management has to consider these different needs for recreational infrastructure, and we propose an area zoning system that meets the different segments of forest visitors.
Highlights
IntroductionIt may be assumed that the quality of these forests and woodlands are of particular importance to urban dwellers for everyday recreation [4,5]
Active outdoor recreation appears to be a cost-effective means for improving public health [1,2,3].Urban forests, in the sense of forests and wooded lands close to densely populated areas, only constitute a small percentage of the total forest area of Fennoscandia.It may be assumed that the quality of these forests and woodlands are of particular importance to urban dwellers for everyday recreation [4,5]
We suggest here a conceptualization along the infrastructure continuum that is based on the ROS (Recreation Opportunity Spectrum) model, and its special attention to the managerial, physical and social dimensions [25,26]
Summary
It may be assumed that the quality of these forests and woodlands are of particular importance to urban dwellers for everyday recreation [4,5] People choose their areas for outdoor recreation by a number of criteria, including distance from residence, accessibility, environmental preferences, previous experience, and the degree of attachment to a given area [6,7,8,9,10]. There is, a lack of research that addresses public preferences for various sorts of trails and roads in a forest [20], even though most people follow such lines or corridors in the landscape.
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