Recreation Policy Research Articles

Is resistance futile? The effects of criticising New Zealand sport policy

This paper examines power relations which affect and are affected by public criticism about New Zealand sport policy. Two questions guide the analysis. First, to what extent might public criticism influence future sport and recreation policy? Second, what effect does public criticism have on the critics themselves? Foucault's conception of parrhesia (or speaking truth to power) is used as a theoretical framework to address these concerns. Methodologically, instances of public criticism were critically examined, and interviews were held with critics and senior members of New Zealand's state sport agency, Sport and Recreation New Zealand (Sparc). The research found that while critics often consider their efforts are ineffectual, there were effects on public policy. Suggestions are offered to both policy writers and citizens for positively constructing and critiquing policy.

Correlations Between Policy Discourse and Leisure Constraints among Ethnic Minorities: A case study of recent arrivals to Canada

This paper examines the correlation between policy discourse and the leisure constraints of ethnic minority adults who are recent arrivals to Canada. The aim of this study was to provide further insight into the leisure constraints of immigrant populations by examining the inference of dominant ideology embedded in recreation policy. A case study methodology was adopted to explore how recreation policy has addressed the needs and interests of Spanishspeaking immigrant adults who are recent arrivals to Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Following a critical analysis of national and provincial government documents (published between 1983 and 2006), semi‐structured interviews were conducted with three municipal recreation administrators and six Spanish‐speaking immigrant adults. Findings suggest neo‐liberalism has become a major ideology in recreation policy discourse, inhibiting ethnic minority immigrants undergoing socio‐cultural and economic transitions.

Outdoor recreation in forest policy and legislation: A European comparison

The benefits of outdoor recreation and the need for recreation inventories and monitoring are described in various policy and legislation documents at the European level. The objective of this paper is to analyse how these recreational aspects are reflected at the national level in core forest policy and legislation documents as well as related domains. The COST Action E33 network was used to extract information about national policies and monitoring practices for international comparison, using the Delphi method. The results provide insights into national policy setting and legislation in the field of outdoor recreation, and reveal similarities, differences, gaps and future needs. Among the main findings is a contradiction between the expressed political importance of outdoor recreation at the national level, and the absence of binding commitments for action. The majority of the countries surveyed recognise and express outdoor recreation in some form of political and/or legislative way. However, recreation monitoring or measurements are rarely mentioned in relevant policies or acts at the national, regional or local level, perhaps due to a lack of political will or resources. The analysis indicates that a consistent forest recreation monitoring system, linked to sustainable forest management, as described for example in the Helsinki process, should be better transferred into national policy and legislation. Comparable data across Europe could then provide a sound base for making decisions on outdoor recreation policy, planning and management, and furthermore provide a basis for the detection of societal changes and demands over time.

Outdoor Recreation, Health, and Wellness: Understanding and Enhancing the Relationship

The research literature on outdoor recreation as it relates to human health is vast and growing. To help policymakers take new and emerging findings into account when designing recreation and park services and initiatives for the 21st century, this paper summarizes the salient issues and identifies research gaps. It considers how being outside in natural surroundings may improve health and how outdoor physical activities benefit participants. Particular attention is given to children’s health problems that can be mitigated through outdoor play, sports, and nature study. The paper describes approaches to measuring physical activity and recent trends in park visitation and outdoor activity participation. It looks at variables that affect participation in outdoor activities and considers the projected demographic changes that will affect policymaking in this arena. The findings of this literature review point to potential new directions for outdoor recreation policy, as well as new policy questions to be explored.

Knowledge, Power and Politics

This article analyses the sources of knowledge New Zealand sport and recreation policy-makers rely on when forming public policy. Specifically, utilizing a Foucauldian lens of governmentality, we consider how New Zealand sport and recreation policy is influenced by various sources of knowledge. Through analysis of official policy documents, media releases and interviews with senior New Zealand policy managers, we argue that despite claims of positivistic, `evidence-based' policy, writers draw on a wide range of knowledge sources. Thus, despite being governed by positivism, policy-makers themselves utilize other, multifarious sources of knowledge in order to construct national sport policy. We offer considerations for the future setting of such public policy, and in particular suggest the existing rationale for the formulation of public policy could be altered to acknowledge these wide ranging knowledges.

Writing Leisure: Values and Ideologies of Research

Writing leisure constructs a normative reality about ways in which life should be lived. Leisure research, like all discourses, is embedded in values and situated in ideological contexts. This paper contributes to an on-going dialogue concerned with the impact of ideology on leisure research. The tendencies for discourses of leisure are to provide: (1) idealized visions for end states of society, and (2) roles for research that move society closer to the idealized vision. This paper identifies values and ideologies in writing leisure across topical areas of health, recreation policy, and outdoor recreation where significant portions of the research discourse privilege medicalization, neoliberalism, and pristine land, respectively. Although it may seem that research simply documents the facts about leisure, the writing of leisure does not escape ideological contexts. To enhance the intended impact of leisure research, its values and ideologies need to come to the surface. There are numerous strategies to increase the capacity of leisure research to account for its value orientations.

Land Use Law and Active Living: Opportunities for States to Assume a Leadership Role in Promoting and Incentivizing Local Options

Obesity, asthma and nutrition are just three public health challenges facing children and adults that can be addressed through land use planning and zoning. States must take a leadership role in providing statutory authority and guidance for local govenrments to enact and implement laws and ordinances designed to promote active living. Land use policies, transporation policies, redevelopment policies and open space and recreation policies are key areas where reform is needed. This paper highlights exisiting examples from various states and offers lawmakers, policymakers and advocates options for reforming state laws to incentivize and influence local actions.

A discourse analysis of the National Sport and Recreation Policy for Botswana

The thesis of this article is that national sport and recreation policies constitute a pedagogical problematic, as they are texts bound to specific meaning and learning, with potential to impact on roles and subjectivities. As such, it is crucially important for physical education scholars to adopt a critical stance towards them, opening up the assumptions, intentions and social relations they embody to a profound and sensitive engagement. Ultimately, such a stance has broader implications for intelligible formulation and translation of polices into culturally sensitive practice. Using discourse analysis, a methodology grounded in poststructuralism, the National Sport and Recreation Policy for Botswana is examined for its ideological and epistemological rationale. The analysis presented in this article underscores the need for a reflective and reflexive attitude towards recreation policies, which seem to be taken for granted in postcolonial societies.

State Park Names: Implications for Tourism Marketing

A random selection of state park names were classified by their origins: from nature, culture, or people. The purpose of this study was to determine if park names were consistent with some of the attractions sought by tourists. Although it may seem trivial, names can be powerful links between people and places. Names can heighten visitor expectations, increase subjects' willingness to pay, or result in nonattendance if perceived needs are not met. Many people rely on cues to make decisions about recreation opportunities, instead of using information-based strategies. Names are dominant cues. Nearly 75% of the state park names contained a natural and/or cultural feature (although some of these included people). Only 4% of the parks were named after a person or group having no connection to the site. Overall, the findings were consistent with the literature. Park names were discussed in relation to marketing, visitor behavior, and place attachment, with implications for recreation policy.

An Investigation into Changes to New Zealand Local Government Recreation Policies and Goals from 1987 to 2004: A case study

Survey research undertaken in 2004 indicates that the recreation priorities of New Zealand local government authorities have altered little since 1987 despite the introduction of new legislation focusing on servicing community groups. The 2004 survey of local government park and recreation managers replicated questions asked in 1993 and 1987. Responses to the most recent survey were consistent with the two previous studies. Survey responses indicated that the provision, construction and maintenance of facilities, along with the beautification of the environment, remain areas of greatest importance for New Zealand local authorities with respect to recreation provision. Goal priorities that specifically contained references to the planning process rated highly, but these priorities were not evident in existing local government policies relating to conducting research within the community. Policies associated with recreation counselling and programming, providing for user groups such as people who are unemployed or have a disability, and for individual growth, rated very low. These findings suggest a need to identify, and put in place, ways of quantifying demand by communities for recreation resources.

Valuing the diversity of biodiversity

Policy makers have responded to concerns over declining levels of biodiversity by introducing a range of policy measures including agri-environment and wildlife management schemes. Costs for such measures are relatively easy to establish, but benefits are less easily estimated. Economics can help guide the design of biodiversity policy by eliciting public preferences on different attributes of biodiversity. However, this is complicated by the generally low level of awareness and understanding of what biodiversity means on the part of the general public. In this paper we report research that applied the choice experiment and contingent valuation methods to value the diversity of biological diversity. Focus groups were used to identify ecological concepts of biodiversity that were important and relevant to the public, and to discover how best to describe these concepts in a meaningful and understandable manner. A choice experiment examined a range of biodiversity attributes including familiarity of species, species rarity, habitat, and ecosystem processes, while a contingent valuation study examined public willingness to pay for biodiversity enhancements associated with agri-environmental and habitat re-creation policy. The key conclusions drawn from the valuation studies were that the public has positive valuation preferences for most, but not all, aspects of biodiversity, but that they appeared to be largely indifferent to how biodiversity protection was achieved. Finally, we also investigate the extent to which valuation workshop approaches to data collection can overcome some of the possible information problems associated with the valuation of complex goods. The key conclusion was that the additional opportunities for information exchange and group discussion in the workshops helped to reduce the variability of value estimates.

Suburban citizenship? The rise of targeting and the eclipse of social rights in Toronto

The decline of ‘universal’, welfarist forms of social citizenship and the rise of selective or targeted social policy is generally considered to be a recent phenomenon, and a constituent element of neo-liberal citizenship and state forms (Brodie 1997), or ‘advanced liberal’ technologies of government (Rose 2000). This paper documents how targeted policies were in fact being defined at the height of Keynesian welfarism, in the newly consolidating post-war suburbs of Toronto. I suggest an alternative account of the genesis of these practices, which sees the spatiality of the post-war metropolis as key. The analysis considers how the mutual consolidation of these social and material spaces, and of hegemonic suburban political practices enabled the articulation of a suburban style of citizenship, which was both intensely familial and entrepreneurial in form. Through a case study in recreation policy in the Toronto region, this paper demonstrates how selective, targeted and residual approaches to service delivery evolved in suburban municipalities in the immediate post-war period, and were only generalized across the city more recently through the restructuring of a municipal amalgamation. It documents how these approaches have relied on radically different assumptions about citizenship that were dependent on the articulation of suburban life, literally built around the private family in private space. Thus this paper also documents ways in which these approaches to social policy, increasingly dominant across a range of policy areas and at a variety of spatial scales, construct gendered and racialized identities and problematize non-nuclear family forms.

Effects of Disturbance on Activity and Energy Budgets of Migrating Waterbirds in South-Central Oklahoma

We studied effects of disturbance on migrating waterbirds during spring on Cumberland Pool at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Tishomingo, Oklahoma, USA, 1999 and 2000. We recorded 240 disturbances in 477.5 hr of observation of American coots (Fulica americana), American white pelicans (Pelecanus erythrarhynchos), black terns (Chlidonias niger), blue-winged teal (Anas discors), and Franklin's gulls (Larus pipixcan). Recreation (n = 208) accounted for 86.7% of all disturbances, natural disturbances (n = 23) accounted for 9.6%, and 3.3% of disturbances (n = 8) were unknown. Boat fishing increased alertness by American white pelicans but did not affect escape behavior. Recreational disturbances caused increases in escape activities and alertness of American coots. However, only boat fishing increased energy expenditure by American coots. Rates of disturbance differed between species and appeared to be correlated to foraging strategies, habitat requirements, and type of disturbance. Therefore, managers of public lands should consider habits and migration chronologies of waterbirds when setting seasonal recreation dates. Modifying recreation policy could reduce rates of disturbance to some waterbirds. Future research should be aimed at constructing energy budgets and measuring body condition of birds at multiple staging areas during spring to determine whether recreational disturbance ultimately affects reproductive success.

The Role of Non-Market Valuation in Forest Management and Recreation Policy

Forests, and particularly those where native and mixed species are grown, provide a variety of non-wood values, important among which are recreation and environmental services. Substantial progress has been made in recent years in estimating economic values on these services. A considerable amount of research on forest values has been carried out recently in tropical and sub-tropical eastern Australia, some of which is reported in the following papers. The need for estimates of non-wood forest benefits is apparent, and it is clear that further development of techniques and a greater understanding of the way these values can be integrated into public-sector decision making is required.

Preserving a community's sporting heritage through local government recreation planning

Fremantle City Council (FCC) is a local government authority located in Fremantle, a historically significant part of south-west Australia. One of the FCC's major functions is to plan for the future of the area, including responding to the recreation and sporting needs of the Fremantle community.The FCC completed a five-year recreation policy and strategy in December 2000, with the finished document identifying and addressing a number of themes, issues and problems about recreation and sport important to the Fremantle community. Following a process of community consultation the final document provides a pragmatic and applied approach to meeting the recreation and sporting needs of the community.A notable theme to emerge during the gathering of information centred round Fremantle's extensive sporting heritage and the strong desire for the FCC to support and enhance this legacy. Sport gave the port city its early identity, engendering community spirit and friendly but serious rivalry between it and other neighbouring communities. However, the prominence of sport in the Fremantle community has somewhat lessened in recent times due to a variety of reasons. The city is now recognised more for its cultural festivals, its artistic endeavours from both community and professional artisans, its beaches and the South Terrace cappuccino strip.Through its recreation policy and strategy, the FCC has been able to respond to the problem in a variety of ways. Initiatives identified include a sporting heritage museum, an oral history of sport to be linked closely to Fremantle's social history, continued support for the Fremantle Sporting Wall of Fame project and improvements to the FCC's current level of support for sport, particularly at the junior level.

The production of meaning in outdoor recreation: A study of Norwegian practice

Outdoor recreation policy and management have largely been occupied by questions related to use patterns: who participates in which activities, where and when? However, it is commonly held that ideas and practices mutually influence each other. In outdoor recreation, it could be expected that the observable use patterns are influenced by the meaning recreationists ascribe to their activities. In this study 14 narratives of outdoor recreation practices are analyzed, in order to broaden the traditional understanding of the meaning of outdoor recreation.

National outdoor recreation demand and supply in Finland: an assessment project

This paper introduces the National Outdoor Recreation Demand and Supply Assessment Study (LVVI) in Finland (Sievanen, 1998). The project involves collecting statistics and maintaining databases on a continuous basis in order to monitor changes in people’s participation in outdoor activities and behaviour patterns; as well as changes in the supply of recreation opportunities and the quality of services. At present, Finland lacks detailed statistics and information about the demand for outdoor recreation facilities. There is also a need for more information about the recreation resources provided by different agencies. A comprehensive database is needed in order to direct outdoor recreation policy appropriately. In Finland, outdoor recreation is based on the principle of ‘everyman’s right’, which means that all forests, shores and water areas, including those that are privately owned, are open to public access. Although access is permitted, the quality of the environment in timber production forests does not always meet the requirements for recreational use. State and municipal agencies and private firms also offer designated recreation areas and services. Public recreation agencies need information about recreation resources and their use in order to allocate their future investments effectively, and for the efficient management of their resources. It is particularly important to assess the demand both for local recreation facilities and also for resource-based opportunities further from home. When planning recreation areas and trails, which may extend over municipal borders, information is needed to improve municipal co-operation. The demand for nature-based tourism is expected to grow as many rural communities seek new sources of income. The availability of data on recreation supply and demand will allow for more accurate market analysis and service planning. The assessment will facilitate the integration of planning at the regional level with regard to forestry, landscaping, land-use, tourism and other business development programmes. Continuous monitoring and a better understanding of the use and supply of recreational resources are also required in order to assess the impact on the environment and to implement a policy of socially sustainable use of natural resources.

An economic assessment of informal recreation policy in the Scottish countryside

Countryside recreation policy in Scotland is currently delivered through numerous ad hoc arrangements. This paper assesses the economic effectiveness of these arrangements using cost‐benefit analysis. The benefits associated with recreation enhancements are measured using the contingent valuation method, while the costs are assessed through a survey of public and voluntary section expenditure on informal recreation. The analysis demonstrates that recreation policies are generally economically efficient in that they target enhancement programmes that are shown to generate high economic benefits. The exception to this is related to investments in visitor centres. The paper concludes that the cost‐benefit methodology adopted in this research can provide useful information for the strategic analysis of countryside recreation policy.

An economic assessment of informal recreation policy in the Scottish countryside

An economic assessment of informal recreation policy in the Scottish countryside

An Assessment of the Economic Effectiveness of Recreation Policy Using Contingent Valuation

Arrangements within the UK to enhance recreation opportunities in the countryside are currently implemented in a somewhat ad hoc manner. This paper analyses the economic effectiveness of such provision in Grampian Region, Scotland. This is achieved by quantifying, using the contingent valuation method, the economic benefits accruing from recreation enhancements and comparing these benefits with the level of expenditure currently being undertaken on these improvements. The subsequent analysis provides a strategic framework for the assessment of recreation needs in the region, thus enabling future priorities for provision to be identified. It is argued that the quantification of public preferences for recreation enhancements provides a powerful tool to aid strategic planning of recreation provision. The issue of using public funds to finance recreation facilities in the countryside is also discussed.