Public Recreation Areas Research Articles

Opening a Public Recreation Area to Revitalize Coastal Communities and Preserve Natural Resources in Louisiana: The Case of Elmer's Island

The income capitalization approach is used, based on expenditure and nonmarket values collected from travel-cost and contingent valuation methodologies, to measure the feasibility of running a self-sustaining recreational site in coastal Louisiana. Through Internet and intercept surveys, a total of 2,696 respondents, 88% of them anglers, provided information on economic expenditures, destination preferences, and preferences for specific site amenities regarding Elmer's Island. The purchase and subsequent opening of the area to the public were found to be self-sustaining even when considering conservative economic estimates.

Measurement of soil compaction tolerance of Lagestromia speciosa (L.) Pers. using chlorophyll fluorescence

Trees planted along roadsides and on public recreation areas are subjected to environmental stresses such as poor soil, air pollution and heat. However, very little information is available on the trees’ tolerance to the various stress factors faced in an urban environment in Malaysia, such as soil compaction. The effects of soil compaction on a range of chlorophyll fluorescence parameters ( F 0 , F m , F v / F m ) in foliar tissue of Lagestromia speciosa, a widely planted Malaysian street tree, were examined. Results showed that soil compaction was between 170 and 315 MPa in the study areas. Soil compaction above 180 MPa affected tree form and reduced chlorophyll fluorescence. It is concluded that chlorophyll fluorescence offers a rapid screening technique for assessing soil compaction tolerance of L. speciosa.

Perceived values of recreational urban parks with reference to Simferopol in the Republic of Crimea and Raleigh in the USA

This article compares the values of the environment, and the sense of social and political responsibility in public recreational areas in two cities: Simferopol in Crimea in Ukraine, and Raleigh in North Carolina in the USA. The respondents were users of recreational urban park spaces and were assessed through a written survey of both populations. This study found both commonalities in the values and constructions held, as well as important differences that point to the future of environmental protection in the NIS (Newly Independent States). It was designed to assess respondent perceptions of the dynamic environmental conditions that currently exist in the post-Soviet city for future planning and development initiatives.

Harry Oakman (1906–2002)


 
 On 16 June 2002 a remarkable Australian, Harry Oakman, died. The author of thirteen books on tropical and subtropical gardening, he remains the most widely read gardener in Queensland and probably Australia. He was one of the early public horticulturalists, parks department manager, landscaper, planner with probably more public open space and recreation areas designed by him in the cities of Newcastle, Brisbane and Canberra than any other parks administrator.
 

Disarming the prairie

In this volume, landscape photographer Terry Evans offers images of the impact of America's military-industrial complex on the environment and the transformation of a former military base into a nature preserve and public recreation area. Located 40 miles southwest of downtown Chicago, the Joliet Army Arsenal was once the world's largest TNT factory. Wartime security and safety measures demanded that the Joliet installation be surrounded by 19,000 acres of open lands - farmlands, meadows, wetlands and forest. Abandoned by the post-Cold War era military, the plant and its surroundings have been given a new purpose. Inspired by the vision and efforts of environmentalist and residents, the federal government transferred the land from the Department of the Army to the US Forest Service in 1997 and created Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. Evans seeks to capture the moment of this transformation in her pictures, contrasting the decayed monuments of 20th-century warfare with the pastoral beauty and historic structures preserved within the boundaries of the former installation. She explores the militarization of the American landscape and its legacy with images of the arsenal and the countryside around the base. In his introduction, Tony Hiss notes that installations similar to the Joliet Arsenal were built across the USA during World War II and at the height of the Cold War, eventually occupying 30 million acres of land. He explores the debate over what to do with the sprawling munitions factories for which the post-Cold War military has no use.

Ethnic factors and the use of public outdoor recreation areas: The case of Mexican Americans

Abstract This study investigated the effects of subculture, marginality, and perceived discrimination on use of selected public outdoor recreation areas. The assimilation perspective from the sociology literature provided theoretical guidance for the study. These concepts were treated as different types of social distance (cultural distance, socioeconomic distance, and intergroup distance). Each was hypothesized to affect the use of outdoor recreation areas. Data for this analysis came from telephone interviews conducted with 1057 households in Maricopa and Gila counties in Arizona. The analysis was conducted using a subsample of respondents of Mexican ancestry. The results support the socioeconomic, or marginality, hypothesis. There was less support for the subcultural, or ethnicity, hypothesis. There was no support for the perceived discrimination hypothesis. Research implications and recommendations are discussed.

Dredged materials–problems associated with their use on land

SUMMARYThe use of river and harbour dredgings in reclamation projects worldwide is reviewed. Potential land uses are considered where the emphasis is placed on the growth of plants, such as agricultural and public recreation areas. Physical and chemical problems associated with the use of dredgings in such projects are identified, and crop responses on these materials are discussed. Health risks to man and animals associated with using dredged materials are also considered.Physical problems such as high water‐holding capacity do not limit the use of dredged materials provided that the period of ripening is of sufficient length. High heavy metal contents, nutrient imbalance and unfavourable pH are seen as the major constraints to the use of dredged materials as growth media. It is concluded that with careful ripening, and monitoring of chemical parameters, dredged materials may be of considerable use in many reclamation projects.

Trends in the Use of Public Recreation Areas. Marion Clawson. Proceedings of the National Outdoor Recreation Trends Symposium II, vol. I, 1985, pp. 1-12. National Park Service, Science Publications Office, 75 Spring Street, S.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30303

Trends in the Use of Public Recreation Areas. Marion Clawson. Proceedings of the National Outdoor Recreation Trends Symposium II, vol. I, 1985, pp. 1-12. National Park Service, Science Publications Office, 75 Spring Street, S.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30303

Pricing for Efficiency and Revenue in Public Recreation Areas

Microeconomic theory is used to consider issues related to setting a price for the use of publicly provided outdoor recreation. The necessary conditions for pricing recreation to achieve economic e...

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF BMP'S AND SEDIMENT CONTROL STRUCTURES AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO IN-LAKE WATER QUALITY

ABSTRACT Lake Herman is a nitrogen limited, hypereutrophic, shallow (mean depth 1.7m), warm water lake located in Lake County, S.D. The lake has experienced extensive blue-green algal blooms, fish winterkills, and receives a high sediment load. Algal and macrophyte growth has diminished the open water surface area. The predominant land use is agriculture with permanent homes, small businesses, and public recreation areas surrounding the lake's shoreline. On January 13, 1978, Lake Herman and its associated watershed were selected to participate in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sponsored Model Implementation Program. The primary objective of the project was to improve the water quality of Lake Herman by reducing phosphorus, nitrogen, and sediment loads through voluntary application of Best Management Practices (BMP's) and construction of sediment control structures. Approximately 5 years of water quality data from the lake, the tributaries, the outlet, and above and below the BMP's, and the sediment control structures are available from this project. Although the results of t-test analyses indicated that the sediment control structures are reducing the sediment and nutrient load, a corresponding reduction has not been observed in the lake. Therefore, two phosphorus mass budget models were used to predict the phosphorus concentrations in the lake: neither predicted the high phosphorus concentrations observed in the lake. It is assumed that another nonpoint source of phosphorus affects the lake (internal loading from resuspended sediments or aquatic macrophytes). The next step in the Lake Herman restoration project is to dredge selected areas to deepen them and reduce the resuspension of sediments.

Rural recreation space: alternatives to national parks

Increasing pressure on public resource-based recreation areas, coupled with budgetary constraints and a scarcity of suitable land, have led some countries to consider alternative means of providing rural recreation space convenient for urban populations. In Australia, opportunities exist to create national reserves thereby encouraging rural landholders to permit use of selected sites for recreation purposes as a complement to national parks. Despite some limitations and disadvantages the national reserve concept has had wide application in the United States, Britain and Europe. Given understanding, consultation and co-operation, similar reserves, or ‘countryside parks’ modelled on the national reserve concept, could serve as an efficient, cost-effective means of making available extra-urban recreation space in Australia.

Subdivision Exactions and Congestion Externalities

THE rapid growth of suburban communities in recent years has led to increased congestion and greater physical burdens upon the public facilities of those communities. The purpose of this paper is to examine these problems in the specific case of public parks and recreation areas and to demonstrate that the full complexity of the issues has not yet been grasped even by those legislatures and courts that have considered the problem of congestion externalities. We begin with a simple model of congestion externalities and public recreational facilities, and then review the judicial approach to statutes attempting to mitigate these effects. Finally, we present a model for internalizing the principal effects of suburban growth upon public recreational areas, and offer some guidelines for an efficient legislative solution to these difficult problems.

Instant Relief with New Stereo Image Alternator

The recent development by the U.S. Geological Survey of Stereo Image Alternator (SIA) Illumination Systems for photogrammetric stereoplotters promises to extend the useful life of optical projection stereoplotter instruments by avoiding disadvantages of anaglyphic filter spectacles. Enabling a stereoplotter operator to see the stereo model more clearly, the SIA improves the operator's confidence and efficiency. While the SIA is an old idea, synchronization of shutters could not be reliably accomplished until electronically-pulsed stepping motors were employed. An improved SIA design for full-model projection stereoplotters, such as Balplex or Multiplex instruments, permits the opportunity of substituting a stereo photographic display for hand-made models. The resulting full-color, wide-angle, metrically accurate stereo model has promising applications in the fields of transportation route design, geology, pollution analysis, military engineering, public recreation areas, and regional and urban planning.