Peri-urban Park Research Articles

Anthropogenic Noise Mapping of a Periurban Natural Park on the Coastal Area in the SW of Spain: Case Study of Bird's Ecosystem Protection

This article presents a methodological approach to try to respond to some of the protection and management needs against the noise of a peri-urban natural park. The methodology presented is based on the generation of "ad hoc" noise maps. To analyze its possibilities and the limits of use, a coastal park surrounded by a densely populated area in the southwest of Spain is used as a case study. In this study, birds in their diverse ecosystems are the main target noise receiver of the study. The source of noise pollution considered is the traffic noise of the highways and the urbanized areas surrounding the park. However, the methodology can be extrapolated to any source of noise and other protection figures. An adequate diagnosis of the environmental noise would help to overcome the supposed incompatibility between the preservation of nature and the tourist exploitation of natural spaces. With this in mind, it has also been proposed as target noise receivers, the ornithologists and visitors who wish to become bird-watchers and bird-listeners. To this end, it has been proposed to produce noise maps with certain methodological guidelines that fit on a case-by-case basis. Several heights are used in this paper, adapting the map to noise receivers. With the same purpose, noise level maps in octave bands were developed. The tonal frequencies of interest are those that the birds use in their songs (according to the species, normally between 2 and 8 kHz). The maps have been contrasted with noise measurements carried out throughout the park. The study shows that in the areas most exposed to the noise of the Rio San Pedro and the university campus, noise levels at 2 kHz can reach 74 dB during the peak traffic hours. In addition, a large percentage of the area of both areas is affected by noise levels that exceed 50 dB (100% and 44% respectively). We are also concerned that a small population of birds has been counted in these areas based on preliminary observations at peak traffic times. The results can help the decision-makers to evaluate how traffic noise invades different ecosystems and where it can mask the sound of birds.

Factors influencing park popularity for mountain bikers, walkers and runners as indicated by social media route data

For most protected areas visitor data is limited, even for popular activities such as mountain biking, walking and running. With the exponential increase in volunteered geographic information, it is now possible to assess visitation to parks by people using social media. The number of routes posted to MapMyFitness, Strava and Wikiloc were used to assess the relative popularity of 40 national parks in South East Queensland, Australia for mountain biking, walking and running. Then, using generalised linear models, the topographic, geographic, management and environmental variables that best predicted park popularity among users were identified. There were more than 450,000 visits to the parks, with 98% of routes posted on Strava. Distance (road and direct distance) from large urban areas best predicted visitation using routes from MapMyFitness and Strava with three parks within 2 km of urban areas experiencing over 70,000 visits (Strava). For urban parks, recreational trail length best predicted usage, while for more remote parks, the direct distance to urban areas remained the most important factor. In contrast, people using the adventure platform Wikiloc preferred more remote parks with rugged terrain. The results highlight factors affecting park popularity including distance. With the expansion and densification of cities, including in Australia, urban and peri-urban parks are likely to experience increasing levels of use for fitness-based activities while more remote parks may remain attractive among people focused on adventure.

Assessing recreational values of a peri-urban nature park by synthesizing perceptions and preferences of trail users

Outdoor recreation in natural areas generally contributes to physiological and psychological restoration, but the increasing popularity of urban green spaces raises concerns for the benefits they provide. To assess trail users' preferences for recreational conditions in a peri-urban nature park, a stated preference approach in the form of the discrete choice experiment was applied, and accompanied with a best-worst scaling experiment that assessed the perception of crowding, i.e. the relative impact of recreational setting attributes on the sense of crowding. The two experiments were linked to investigate the influence of crowding perceptions on the sensitivity to crowding. Trail users' perception of ‘trail use level’, ‘hut occupancy’ and ‘noise from road traffic’ significantly influenced their sensitivity to ‘crowding on the trail’ and ‘intensity of road traffic’. Trail use and traffic noise were identified as sensitive recreational conditions, and should be given a priority when managing recreational use pressure in the park and maintaining or improving its recreational value.

Zoned out? The determinants of manufactured housing rents: Evidence from North Carolina

This paper explores determinants of manufactured housing park (MHP) plot rents in North Carolina, with particular focus on the distinction among high-growth urban parks and small town/rural parks, and on the possible role played by zoning restrictiveness. Little is known about how MHP rents are determined, even though it is estimated that more than 10 million Americans live in MHPs. We implement a hedonic model and an instrumental variables approach to examine the relationship between MHP rents and local housing markets, land use restrictions, and other factors. We find that, contrary to expectations, zoning is strongly negatively associated with park rents in periurban and rural parks, but appears as a positive driver in high-growth cities. We then extend this model to an out-of-sample prediction for MHPs rents in Texas.

Visual sensitivity versus ecological sensitivity: An application of GIS in urban forest park planning

Planning and management of forest parks have been contentious and challenging, as multiple and sometimes conflicting uses must be accommodated, especially in urban and peri-urban areas. Methodologies are thus needed to explore and evaluate development and conservation initiatives as a crucial part of sustainable planning and management process. In China, urban forest parks have been increasingly established aiming at satisfying the recreational demand of citizens in tandem with preserving diverse natural resources to safeguard the ecological resilience and adaptability of urban ecosystems. The transition from the traditional focus on recreational use (emphasizing the improvement of visitors’ visual quality and landscape aesthetics) to multiple uses including ecological and biological preservation (highlighting the minimization of ecological vulnerability) poses an urgent challenge for the planning and management of urban forest parks worldwide. In this study, a geographic information system (GIS) combined with Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach is explored to objectively quantify and integrate the visual sensitivity and ecological sensitivity of the Tianzhu Mountain National Forest Park, Fujian province, South China. The visual sensitivity is evaluated based on three dimensions: slope, distance and visibility. And the ecological sensitivity is measured with regard to elevation, slope, aspect, forest type, and distance to river. By overlapping of the visual sensitivity and ecological sensitivity maps for the study site, three functional zones are pinpointed, including nature restoration/conservation zone (with high ecological sensitivity and low visual sensitivity or invisible), level 1 development zone (with high visual sensitivity and low/very low ecological sensitivity), as well as level 2 development zone (with moderate visual and ecological sensitivities). Compared with the existing long-term development plan, obvious discrepancies can be identified. Our results can provide scientific decision support for multiple use planning of the study site, and also demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed methodology, which is comprehensive yet convenient, for the sustainable planning of urban and peri-urban forest parks.

Peri-Urban National Parks as Green Spaces for Recreation

Little is known regarding the significance for local people of peri-urban national parks as recreational areas. The main goal of the present article is to evaluate the social impact and importance of peri-urban parks for visitors as a green space for outdoor recreation. For this investigation on-site, face-to-face interviews were conducted. The main reason for visiting NP are: “to be near to nature” (64.71%), “to practice sport” (58.09%) and “relaxing” (43.38%). Spending time in NP is considered by most interviewed people to be of crucial importance both for physical (96.32%) and for mental (83.82%) health. It should be noted that high frequency of park visits was reported only by young, employed and well-educated people. Data collected shows that park management plan should encourage low-income groups (unemployed and elderly) to use outdoor recreation as a part of preventive healthcare. The access for older adults, people with disabilities and children to the park should be facilitated. Services like access to clean water, toilets and seating places must be improved. The data from the authors' survey could be useful for the peri-urban national parks development as green spaces for promoting health among all demographic groups of local inhabitants.

Seasonal and Environmental Variables Related to the Abundance of Immature Mosquitoes in Rain Pools of a Peri-Urban Park of Buenos Aires (Argentina).

The aim of the present study was to investigate the variables associated with the composition of mosquito species in rain pools of 'Bosque de Ezeiza', a large peri-urban forested park of Buenos Aires city, Argentina. A total of 12 rain pools were sampled biweekly over a 1-yr period in search of mosquito immature stages. Mosquito immature stages were present in all the occasions in which water bodies were recorded. A total of 14 species of five genera were identified, with the highest abundances observed in autumn and spring. The total abundance varied among dates according to previous temperature, precipitation, and flooding conditions. Only one species, Psorophora cyanescens (Coquillett) (Diptera: Culicidae), was associated with extreme conditions (high temperature and prolonged period of drought). Besides drought periods, two main variables were related to species composition: temperature, which accounted for seasonal changes in species composition, and flooding history, which accounted for the predominance of floodwater mosquito species on recently flooded dates and for that of stagnant water species on dates with a longer permanence of water. Regarding the pools, the most important variables accounting for species composition were the insolation level and the variability in the flooded area, with floodwater mosquitoes associated with pools with high variability in the flooded area. Interestingly, Culex (Mel.) pilosus (Dyar and Knab) (Diptera: Culicidae) showed temporal and spatial dynamics more similar to floodwater species than to stagnant water species in the rain pools studied.

Comparative analysis of Nature Park Shumen Plateau and Shumen City Park as green spaces

Abstract The green areas play a significant role in keeping the urban population healthy. Consequently, there has been a growing interest in the urban and peri-urban parks lately. The Nature Park Shumen plateau and Shumen City Park are an important green area for residents of Shumen city. The aim of this study was to make comparative analysis of the qualities of the Nature Park Shumen Plateau and the Shumen City Park as green spaces. For quality assessment 10 criteria were used. The criteria were grouped in four categories - Green space placement, Green space use, Environment and Biodiversity. Five-point Likert scale was used to determine satisfaction with each of the 10 criteria. Nine experts did the evaluation of the criteria. In category “Green space placement”, the Nature Park Shumen Plateau and the Shumen City Park had very similar evaluations however there were big differences in the individual criteria. According to the category “Green space use, both parks showed rather similar results. Concerning the category „Environment”, the Nature Park Shumen Plateau received slightly higher assessment and the category “Biodiversity” was ranked as twice higher. The results show that the Nature Park Shumen Plateau and the Shumen City Park possess good quality as a green area, as the Nature Park Shumen Plateau was higher assessed compared to the Shumen City Park.

Promoting justice for underserved groups in periurban parks: the potential of state-community partnerships

ABSTRACTThe documented under-representation of ethnoracial minority population in peri-urban parks can be considered an environmental justice issue. This exploratory qualitative study examined the outreach efforts and challenges faced by a large state parks agency in attracting underserved and under-represented visitors from low-income and ethnoracial minority groups to its parks. It also explored if and under what conditions partnerships between the public agency and community-based and nonprofit organisations or their coalitions may help bring more under-represented groups to parks. Findings were based on a triangulated three-pronged set of qualitative data from a) an online survey of state park personnel that yielded 58 responses; b) semi-structured interviews with 19 park leaders; and b) semi-structured interviews with representatives of 12 nonprofit groups. Findings indicated that despite its good intentions, the State Parks agency fell short of increasing the accessibility and fit of its parks for its low-income and ethnoracial minority constituents. Further findings suggested that partnerships between the state parks agency and open space nonprofit organisations and their coalitions offer a promising strategy for increasing diversity in parks, but only under certain caveats.

Long-term monitoring suggests bat boxes may alter local bat community structure

Bat boxes are often used to provide supplementary roosting habitats; however, little is known of their impacts on community composition. Data collected from a 25-year box-monitoring and 31-year harp trapping case study provides preliminary evidence that the installation of boxes may have contributed to one species, Gould’s wattled bat (Chalinolobus gouldii), dominating the bat community of a periurban park in Melbourne. This highlights the need for systematic monitoring and empirical assessment of conservation-focused bat box programs.

Measuring trail users’ perception of crowding in a peri-urban nature park: A best-worst scaling experiment

This paper evaluates the perception of crowding, its determinants and relationship with trail users’ experience in a peri-urban nature park. Existing crowding surveys rely heavily on a single-item 9-point crowding scale which was originally developed for backcountry areas. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to test the validity and reliability of this measure in detecting crowding issues and formulating visitor capacity limits. Low validity and reliability raised concerns about the applicability of this scale in similar frontcountry areas. Inability of this simple crowding measure to detect a visitor threshold brings to the fore its another important limitation – ignorance of the complexity of crowding phenomenon. The perception of crowding varies with various social, psychological and situational factors, and a best-worst scaling (BWS) experiment was designed to simultaneously evaluate different aspects of crowding in the Medvednica Nature Park, a peri-urban nature park near Zagreb, Croatia. The findings of BWS experiment revealed that occupancy of mountain huts, number of other hikers on the trail and amount of litter along the trail on average contributed most to the trail users’ sense of crowding. A latent class analysis identified a large heterogeneity in the perception of crowding; while one group of trail users (63%) was more disturbed by the direct social impacts, the others (37%) were more disturbed by the secondary impacts of other visitors, especially by the negative externalities from road traffic in the park. Older visitors had a greater tendency to primarily associate crowding with the environmental conditions. A higher impact of trail use level in the perception of crowding, younger age and more frequent use were associated with a more negative evaluation of crowding. The park management should closely monitor road traffic in the park and visitor activity on highly used trails, especially on those popular among younger trail users.

Zoned Out? North Carolina Manufactured Housing Parking Lot Rents

This paper explores determinants of manufactured housing park (MHP) plot rents in North Carolina, with particular focus on the distinction among urban, rural, and periurban and small town parks, and on the possible role played by zoning restrictiveness. Little is known about how MHP rents are determined, even though it is estimated that more than 10 million Americans live in MHPs. We find that, contrary to our expectations, zoning appears to be an unimportant factor in determining park rents, while location, adjacent home prices, and nearby HUD “fair market rent” values are all important – though not uniformly so.

Birds biodiversity in urban and periurban forests: environmental determinants at local and landscape scales

A significant decline in biodiversity is associated with the current and upcoming degree of urbanization. A challenging strategy to address this conflict is to make urban growth compatible with biodiversity protection and in this context urban parks can play a crucial role. Urban systems are highly dynamic and complex human-shaped ecosystems, where the relationship between species and environment may be altered and make the preservation of biodiversity within them a challenging goal. In this study, we analysed how different environmental features affect bird biodiversity in one of the most urbanized areas of Italy (the metropolitan area of Milan) at different spatial scales. Bird surveys were conducted in fifteen urban and peri-urban parks and environmental variables at landscape and local scale recorded. Results showed that a mixture of land covers and the presence of water bodies inside urban parks favoured species occurrence and abundance at landscape scale, but a surrounding dense urban matrix deflated biodiversity. At local scale, woodland cover and presence of water bodies were key determinants in ensuring overall high biodiversity but local-specific vegetation management produced an unusual pattern for forests species. In particular, the maintenance of large trees may not result in biodiversity support for forest bird species if large trees are not located in woodland areas with a significant tree density. To understand biodiversity patterns and provide useful information for urban planning and design, we need to provide insights into species/environment relationships at multiple scales in the urban environment.

Non-native turtles in a peri-urban park in northern Milan (Lombardy, Italy): species diversity and population structure

Trachemys scripta (slider turtle) and other freshwater turtle species have been traded worldwide as pets, but they are often released by owners in wild or in semi-natural habitats, especially in suburban and urbanized areas. In four artificial lakes and ponds of a Regional Park in the North outskirt of Milan (Italy, Lombardy), we trapped non native turtles using basking-traps and landing nets from April to August 2013.We captured 156 Trachemys scripta , 10 Graptemys pseudogeographica and four Pseudemys sp.; the capture-mark-recapture approach estimated an overall number of 224 individuals (95% C.I. 195-270). There was also a strong indirect support for a probable in situ reproduction, with small juveniles captured and a nest-digging female observed.

Seasonal dynamics of adult Dermacentor reticulatus in a peri-urban park in southern Europe

Studies on the human-biting pathogen vectors Dermacentor reticulatus and Ixodes ricinus have been scarce in southern Europe. The aims of the present study were to determine the abundance of these ticks in a peri-urban park in northern Italy, describe the seasonal activity of D. reticulatus and examine the correlation between tick occurrence and environmental factors. Ticks were collected monthly from April 2015 to May 2016 using both dragging and flagging techniques. Various climatic variables (mean temperature, relative humidity and evapotranspiration for the collection dates; and 30-day moving averages preceding each collection date were calculated for rainfall, temperature, relative humidity and saturation deficit) also were recorded. Overall, 444 adults of D. reticulatus and 10 adults of I. ricinus were collected. Males of D. reticulatus appeared earlier in the year than females, but overall females were collected more frequently than males (1:1.25). Statistical analysis showed significant differences in the density of D. reticulatus among sampling transects and among months. The seasonal dynamic of D. reticulatus was characterized by a single peak of activity in the early spring. Tick density was associated with climatic variables: the 30-day moving average saturation deficit was particularly significant as most ticks (83%) were collected at values below 5.2mmHg. At the level of individual sampling transects, seasonal dynamics could be influenced by habitat type and host availability. We found D. reticulatus to be most abundant in mixed forests dominated by oaks and rich in ponds. As to I. ricinus, though found in a small number, its presence can be confirmed by our investigation. In light of the results of this study, the risk for encounters with D. reticulatus and I. ricinus may be higher than previously thought in northern Italy.

Combining high-resolution images and LiDAR data to model ecosystem services perception in compact urban systems

In this study, we aim to understand how the provision of ecosystem services (ESS) is spatially distributed within a compact urban system considering the structure and spatial arrangement of green spaces in relation to built-up areas and other infrastructures. For this purpose, we devised an approach to assess the ESS provided by urban green spaces through the integration of social data (i.e., stakeholders’ perception of the multiple benefits of green spaces) with remotely sensed data, such as high-resolution satellite images and Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) point-cloud. We developed a spatially explicit indicator (or metric) called Normalized Difference Green-Building Volume (NDGB), derived from remote sensing, that can be used to predict the way people perceive the ESS conveyed by green spaces in cities. We designed the NDGB metric using the city of Bari, Southern Italy, as a case example by involving four groups of stakeholders (n=202) to assess ten urban green spaces. Our results show a strong positive relationship between the NDGB and the way stakeholders perceive the ESS provided by these urban green spaces. Thus, our indicator accurately expresses the relationship between stakeholders’ perceptions of ESS provided by green spaces and the physical data (i.e., green space structure) produced by remote sensing technology. The green space most highly evaluated by the NDGB indicator, the periurban park “Lama Balice”, was also the one on which all stakeholder group responses converged, including the group of NGOs and associations, which assigned average low scores for perceived ESS across all the green spaces presented in the study. The study was developed using the city of Bari in Southern Italy as testbed. There is a need to further extend and replicate our approach to other urban systems across different regions (e.g., Northern Europe, North America, Asia), especially those which are in the process of pursuing more sustainable green infrastructure planning and development, as they could be inclined to adopt our approach in ongoing decision making processes. We believe our approach can inform planners and decision makers on ESS provision and supply them with evidence of the local co-benefits of green spaces as well as of the spatial distribution of ESS within compact urban systems.

Are National Parks Inherently Unequal? The 2006 French Park Reform and its Initial Implementation in Mainland France

In France, like in other parts of the world, environmental-protection policies appear to have taken note of local resistance driven by the eviction of populations and restrictions on their use of certain areas. The amendment to the law on French national parks (2006 reform) as such recognized that local populations can help to protect natural environments, as well as their right to participate in defining the charter (or spatial plan) of new parks. This article analyses the creation and local acceptance of the Calanques National Park, a peri-urban park and the first of a new generation of parks in mainland France. Our approach is based on the analytical framework of environmental effort. Using a qualitative corpus of semi-structured interviews and direct observation, we explore three analytical axes. We begin by analyzing the consultation process conducted during the creation of the park. This points up inequalities in access to the public sphere and underscores that only a few, well-endowed user-organizations truly helped define the “good use” of the Calanques that became a reference in the park’s charter. Then we examine how such unequal user participation impacted the wording used in the charter and the distribution of environmental effort demanded of different users. Lastly, the first two observations lead us to question the acceptability of the effort required and its division among users, particularly since the consultation process has been strongly criticized. We question how fairly the effort required by the park’s creation was distributed, particularly given the lack of information and limited legitimacy afforded to the consultation process. Finally, we look at the blaming that has taken place amongst different users of the park—a process compounded for many of those interviewed by their fear of being deprived (unjustifiably, they felt) of their freedom to access nature.

Mountain biking in peri-urban parks: Social factors influencing perceptions of conflicts in three popular National Parks in Australia

Mountain biking is a popular recreational activity including in protected areas close to cities. Although there has been increased research focus on this topic including mountain bikers’ characteristics such as who, when and where they ride, few studies have assessed why they visit peri-urban parks and their environmental values and perceptions about different recreation activities. We address these issues by surveying mountain bikers in three popular peri-urban national parks in Queensland, Australia. The riders were relatively homogeneous in socio-demographic factors, values and perceptions. They were mainly university educated males aged between 25 and 55 years, motivated by the desire for exercise, who engage in recreational activities and frequently visit the parks. Based on responses to a set of standardized questions relating to environmental values, nearly all riders would be characterized as having ecocentric values, particularly those who frequently visit the parks. They tended to have strongly positive perceptions about the three most popular activities during the survey, i.e. mountain biking (44%), hiking (14%) and running (8%). Overall, they had slightly positive perceptions about other activities such as picnicking, horse riding and dog walking that were uncommon during the survey, but where many riders had interacted with these park users on previous visits. As a result, bikers demonstrate limited interpersonal or social value conflict with a range of recreation activities. Expanding the survey to also (1) assess a wider range of activities such as trail bike riding and four-wheel driving, (2) asking other user groups about their values and perceptions, and (3) assess other locations and times may identify different social acceptability thresholds among park visitors. Management implications●Information on the socio-demographics, motivations, values and perceptions of mountain bikers and other visitor groups is important for protected area managers.●There can be limited conflict among different user groups on multi-use wide trails even at times of high usage in peri-urban parks.●Mountain bikers can have positive perceptions of their own and a range of other non-motorized recreation activities.●Mountain bikers perceptions can reflect an ecocentric value system.

Not in our park! Local community perceptions of recreational activities in peri-urban national parks

ABSTRACTIncreased pressure to allow more recreational activities in peri-urban national parks may impact local communities. We surveyed residents living in local communities near six peri-urban national parks (IUCN Category II) in Queensland, Australia. We assessed their sense of place, their perceptions of different types of visitors’ activities, and interactions between attitudes and perceptions. Most respondents, including national park users and non-users, perceived non-motorised recreational activities as appropriate but perceived motorised activities negatively. Overall, negative perceptions were related to a respondent's sense of place. Respondents with a stronger sense of place had more positive perceptions of non-motorised activities but more negative perceptions of motorised activities than respondents reporting a weaker sense of place. Results suggest that people identifying with their local national park may have a small ‘latitude of acceptance’ for motorised activities. We found limited displacement due to recreational conflicts; most respondents still visited these parks. The methods used here, if applied to other peri-urban national parks, could help determine a local community's recreational activity thresholds, offering park managers a way to potentially diminish conflict and enhance visitors’ experiences.

Michel Corajoud and Parc Départemental du Sausset

Among the many significant contributions France has made to contemporary landscape architecture, Michel Corajoud counts as one of the towering figures and his Parc Départemental du Sausset as one of the great park visions of the 1980s. In France, and beyond, Corajoud has emerged as one of the protagonists of the great era that this decade has come to be considered in landscape architecture. He was the primary promoter of teaching landscape in France, the creator of the first landscape architecture school (ENSP at Versailles), a visionary and able designer of large projects. If Parc de la Villette can be considered the most significant project of this period, in terms of innovation of public open spaces, Parc Départemental du Sausset is, for its large and complex vision, an exemplary model of a periurban park that combines rural fringe, suburban settlements, and urban infrastructure with an ecological sensitivity that had not previously been envisioned in other parks. Sausset is a project that works on all scales of the landscape, from the garden to the natural park, and to agricultural fields. It makes multiple references to French landscape history. It presents itself as an ever-changing place, where landscape processes, with their evolutionary dynamics, can be perceived and witnessed by its users. Above all, Sausset is a park that successfully defines the philosophical dialectics between modernity and post-modernity by expressing a tension between innovation and the revival of a strong tradition.