Recreation Planning Research Articles

Chasing Informed Decisions: A Research Note on the Potential for Strava to Support Rural Recreation Planning

With user-generated data from social media platforms becoming more widely available to researchers, these datasets may offer a valuable opportunity for recre-ation and tourism managers to enhance decision-making processes in their com-munities. The activity-tracking app Strava is one potentially underutilized data source in rural recreation planning. Strava data offer a useful supplementary tool that can be used in combination with traditional methods of data collection. We tested the usability of data provided by Strava Metro (a non-profit data service) to assess its capabilities with a case study of Kingdom Trails. We used trail counter data to assess the validity of Strava’s bike ride-counts on five trails. We also inte-grated traffic count data to determine peak times for both bike riders and vehicles where safety concerns may arise. The results of our assessment indicate that Strava data may provide additional insights into trail usage patterns, intensity variations, and visitor-use hotspots for a more holistic understanding of recreation at differ-ent spatial and temporal scales

The need for proactive environmental planning in local government: Examining challenges and pathways forward in Indiana

ABSTRACT Many factors, including regulations, community values, and economic and environmental considerations, influence environmental planning decisions. Across the nation, local elected and appointed boards and commissions are responsible for planning and land use regulations. However, few studies have focused on environmental planning through comprehensive and parks and recreation plans. Using Indiana communities as a case study, this research highlights the theory and practice of environmental planning and community development, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and the presence of social capital. Statewide focus groups found that communities integrate varying environmental planning processes into comprehensive and parks and recreation plans. As a result, these plans represent underutilized potential to guide conservation and collaboration. Integrating environmental planning into local government activities is limited by time, political will, and community awareness. As such, communities need continued support and resources to build social capital that leads to engaging with the public, decision-makers, and collaborators in meaningful ways to foster effective environmental planning.

Recreation specialization: Resource selection functions as a predictive tool for protected area recreation management

Widespread and ongoing increases in park and protected area (PPA) visitation presents managers with the imminent challenge of preserving ecological conditions while also maintaining accessibility in the open spaces that are fundamental to the health and wellness needs of society. In the field of recreation resource management, recreation specialization, the selective channeling of interests and abilities into a specific recreational activity, has contributed to a more comprehensive understanding of recreation behavior, site preference, management perceptions and conservation support. Contributing to historical understandings of specialization can inform recreation planning on the diversity of uses occurring in urban-proximate PPAs. In this study, survey and GPS data collected in urban and peri-urban parks in the Nature Reserve of Orange County, CA, USA, were used to classify recreationists into three specialization types based on empirically derived dimensions of involvement, commitment and skill. For each survey participant, thirteen spatio-temporal metrics (STM) were calculated. A principle component analysis (PCA) reduced STMs into 3 factors representing expressions of spatial behavior and a one-way analysis of variance indicated unique patterns between specialization types and time spent recreating, elevation gained, speed traveled and stopping behavior. Additionally, GPS point data were analyzed with an analytical approach adopted from the field of wildlife movement ecology; a resource selection function (RSF). The RSF assisted in quantifying spatial distribution patterns specific to each specialization type across activity types at four park locations and demonstrated a landscape-based statistical analysis of probability of use in relation to change in elevation, distance to starting points and park amenities. Committed hikers and mountain bikers largely demonstrated longer trip durations, more elevation gain, less overall stopping, faster overall speeds and farther total distances, while e-bikers in this study demonstrated unintuitive specialization dynamics; casual specialization types travelling farther from starting points and dispersing more across trail systems. Further spatial results revealed spatial behavior to be inherently complex and influenced by numerous confounding factors (i.e. activity type/bike type, starting points, park topography and trail design). This novel spatial examination of recreation specialization according to activity type and park location, is useful in understanding recreation behavior and park use in a spatial context. This ability is helpful in a predictive managerial context when reviewed in correspondence with historical evidence identifying behaviors with increased potential for ecological impact.

Assessing Complexity and Stakeholder and Rightsholder Trust in Outdoor Recreation Management on the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail

The Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail (PNT) traverses 1,200 miles from the Continental Divide to the Pacific Ocean. The portion of the trail in Northwest Montana and the Idaho Panhandle is at the nexus of a complex conflict situation involving outdoor recreation, wildlife conservation, and social-cultural values. This evolving conflict has gained national attention due to the diverse stakeholder interests and litigation against the US Forest Service, who administers the trail. The tension among the stakeholder groups and the various ecological and social-cultural dimensions at play illuminate the complexity of managing long-distance trails. Administrators of long-distance trails must evaluate and mitigate social, ecological, and cultural risks. This research note explores complexity and trust ecology among key PNT stakeholders, and discusses opportunities for incorporating trust research in transboundary recreation planning and research.

Reducing Cancer Risk Through Primary Prevention Activities Among Children: A Demonstration Project.

Opportunities to reduce the risk of cancer, including cervical, liver, and skin cancer, start early in life. To encourage adoption of primary prevention activities in childhood to reduce cancer risk later in life, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a demonstration project with 3 National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program (NCCCP) recipients. Iowa, Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB), and Pennsylvania NCCCP recipients implemented evidence-based primary prevention activities for cervical, liver, and skin cancer among children using health care provider education, patient education, and policy development. Iowa implemented an announcement approach to improve provider education on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. Pennsylvania focused on patient education for reducing skin cancer risk and both provider and patient education for liver cancer prevention. NPAIHB created a sun safety intervention for tribal organizations, including a policy guide, media materials, and patient education. In Iowa, health care providers taking the announcement approach reported significantly higher mean scores on a posttest compared with a pretest regarding perceptions about HPV vaccination, self-efficacy, and behavioral intentions related to vaccination. Pennsylvania integrated sun safety education and sunscreen dispenser programs as a health and wellness initiative in 8 state parks and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources incorporated the program in its Pennsylvania Outdoor Recreation Plan. Pennsylvania also implemented health care provider education on the primary prevention of liver cancer through hepatitis B and hepatitis C screening and hepatitis B vaccination. The NPAIHB skin cancer policy guide was created and distributed for use to all 43 federally recognized tribes of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho served by NPAIHB. The identification, dissemination, and implementation of these efforts can serve as best practices for future childhood primary prevention programs. NCCCP recipients and public health professionals can use health care provider education, patient education, and policy development to reduce future risk for cervical, liver, and skin cancer among children.

A dual spatial analysis method based on recreation opportunity spectrum and analytical hierarchy process for outdoor recreation site suitability

Spatial planning tools are required to conduct outdoor recreational activities in harmony with the natural environment. This study introduces a dual spatial analysis method in which the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) are run sequentially to evaluate different criteria groups. This study was conducted in the coastal region of the Enez district of Edirne, one of Turkey's northwestern provinces. With ROS, remoteness, and evidence of humans criteria were considered unweighted, and four land classes, urban, rural, natural with road, and primitive-semiprimitive, and activities suitable for these land classes were determined in the GIS environment. These are six terrestrial activities including nature walk, cycling, horse riding, picnic, camping, and wildlife observation, and four water-based activities including canoeing, swimming, diving, and handline fishing. With the AHP, nine natural criteria were analyzed as weighted and four suitability levels were determined for each activity in the GIS environment, as not suitable, marginally suitable, moderately suitable, and highly suitable. Sensitivity analysis by changing the priorities of the criteria showed that the analysis using the AHP results was reliable especially for determining highly suitable areas, and could be helpful for outdoor recreation planning. Finally, the suitability maps matched the ROS land classes, and the verified final maps were created. This study provides reliable results, showing that planners and decision-makers can adapt to similar areas with different administrative or geographical boundaries. Simultaneously, it contains a series of information that will contribute to planning components such as exploring, developing, diversifying, and presenting outdoor recreation opportunities and restricting them when necessary.

A. J. Veal and Awais Piracha: meeting the need for a rational basis for open space and recreation planning in new high density residential areas: the Recreational Activity Benchmark model, Australian Planner, 2022. A rebuttal

ABSTRACT Veal and Piracha propose an alternate approach to planning recreation provision in new high-density residential areas (NHDA’s) of Australian cities: the RAB or ‘Recreation Activity Benchmark’ (Veal and Piracha 2022). Sydney is used as a case study. This paper contends that the methodology has a range of substantive deficiencies and ignores other well-established planning approaches that have been developed, tested and refined through hundreds of plans prepared by in-house and consulting leisure planners over the past 50 years in Australia and detailed in a range of texts and planning manuals. In applying the Recreation Activities Benchmark (RAB), provision of physical leisure resources is made on the basis of ‘averaging’ the recreation activities that people pursue to determine what facilities they need in the wider city in which the NHDA occurs. The averages are then applied to a projected NHDA population. This review questions the lack of a philosophical and planning basis of the RAB; the need for the RAB methodology; what ‘average’ means in terms of recreation participation; how the average is ‘adjusted’ if sufficient space is not available; the fact that the average used in the methodology has been selected solely to avoid possible legal action by developers, and the fact that the RAB is no different to a provision ‘standard’, given the reliance on data that has inherent shortcomings. The rebuttal concludes by questioning the need for the methodology.

HUMAN RESOURCE SYSTEM MUST BE REPLACED BY OPD-SHRM (ONGOING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT)

Old HR system based on profile while OPD-SHRM based on skills. The origin of Ongoing Professional Development is the evaluation of human psychology based totally on human behavior. The OPD concept is based primarily on the validation of the Herzberg hygiene-motivator theory, with OPD providing the motivators. Similarly, creating clear frames of recreation plans in a person's mind and then running with the person to find flow and have fun while turning in the best actions parallels. It instructs HR to rethink employee considerations in a new light so that they can yield greater results. Ongoing Professional Development is a novel way to consider the relationship that exists between an organization and its employees. Currently, HR practices are based on hundred-year-old models that are both powerful and ineffective. OPD is a complicated concept, unlike modern-day ones, that is supported by new technological advancements and is based on scientific proofs. After the OPD concept was implemented on clients in New Zealand, the results were tremendous and superior to those of traditional HR practices. When combined with Human Resource Practices, the OPD theory creates the OPD-SHRM system.

The Recreation Rationing Spectrum: A Planning Principle for the Fair Distribution of Scarce Recreation Resources

Providing a diversity of opportunities has long been a key tenet of recreation planning. This principle was codified through the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum. Yet this globally-popular framework fails to extend the concept of diversity it applied from types of recreation opportunities to how opportunities are rationed. Reflecting on foundational research that contributed to the formation of the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum and our understanding of distributive justice in outdoor recreation, we suggest the adoption of a new principle that extends the core contributions of this research to how we allocate scarce recreation resources (e.g., campsites, trails, or permits) in an age of increasing demand. We present the Recreation Rationing Spectrum (RRS) as an upshot of this reflection. The RRS is simply a principle, or notion, that beckons us to pause and consider how we can fairly and more equitably distribute recreation access (i.e., campsites) on the basis distributive justice.

Evaluation of GNSS-based Volunteered Geographic Information for assessing visitor spatial distribution within protected areas: A case study of the Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany

Systematic monitoring of recreational use in vulnerable ecosystems is crucial to balance human needs and site capacities. Recently, publicly available digital data, including Global Navigation Satellite System-based Volunteered Geographic Information, gained attention as a potential resource depicting visitor movement. However, there is a need to critically assess its reliability for visitor monitoring across countries, regions and available databases. Our research evaluates the usability of GNSS-based VGI-data obtained from three common platforms: GPSies, Outdooractive, and Komoot for assessing the spatial distribution of hikers in the Bavarian Forest National Park. A total sample of 1742 GNSS-tracks uploaded between 2013 and 2018 were compared across data platforms. Additionally, available systematic field counts, carried out between 2013 and 2014 (11 Eco-Counter sensors), were compared to GNSS-based VGI data uploaded within the corresponding period. The comparisons at individual and collective levels (route lengths, kernel density, optimized hotspot analysis along with fishnet-based counts of GNSS-tracks) showed similarities between VGI data platforms. Data obtained from GPSies and Outdooractive displayed a higher correlation with each other than with those obtained from Komoot. Also, for GPSies, there was a significant positive correlation between VGI-data and field count data. Data sample of Outdooractive and Komoot within the specified spatio-temporal frame was too small to compare with available field count data. We highlight the necessity of systematic validation of GNSS-based VGI data resources, being complementary rather than the primary data source in visitor monitoring and recreation planning. Also, systematic long-term visitor monitoring using other methods is crucial to assess the validity of novel data resources, such as GNSS-based VGI.

Spatial matching and correlation between recreation service supply and demand in the Ili River Valley, China

Natural ecosystems provide various material and nonmaterial services to individuals. The provision of nature-based recreation services has become an important means to meet the spiritual needs of mankind. However, the increasing demand for recreation services and the unclear supply of recreation services have brought many challenges for recreation service planning. Therefore, to achieve high-quality regional development, scientific exploration of the relationship between recreation service supply and demand is necessary. In this study, we integrated multiple data sources into an indicator system for the supply and demand of recreation services. Environmental and landscape attribute indicators were applied in this study as proxies for the supply of recreation services, and population, gross domestic product grid data, and nighttime usage data were used to represent the local demand for recreation services. Finally, matching patterns and correlations between the supply and demand of recreational services in the Ili River Valley were identified. Overall, the results showed that the Ili River Valley has great potential for recreation services supply, but the local demand for recreation services is relatively lower than the supply. Therefore, there is a spatial mismatch between the supply and demand for recreation services in the Ili River Valley. We applied bivariate spatial autocorrelation analysis to examine autocorrelation among recreation service indicators. The results showed a significant spatial correlation between recreation services supply and demand. Therefore, this study can provide information for Ili River Valley's recreation planning and management.

Study on the tourism activities of retirees: Basis for development of proposed recreational plan in Antipolo, Rizal

Study on the tourism activities of retirees: Basis for development of proposed recreational plan in Antipolo, Rizal

Mapping and assessment of recreation services in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Recreation services are part of “Experiences” in nonmaterial nature's contribution to people (NCP). It is one of the activities most closely linked to natural landscapes and human well-being. Current research methods are mostly point-based, lacking a systematic evaluation at the regional level that integrates climate conditions and recreational resources. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) is a unique environment with traditional culture. However, limited ecological capacity and poor adaptation to the plateau climate can affect the development of recreation services. This research develops an evaluation framework for recreation services (RS) based on landscape aesthetic quality (LAQ), climate suitability (CS) and recreation utilisation (RU). The results showed that most of QTP had a low (27 %) and average (30 %) LAQ. Regarding CS, a very large part of the studied area had a very low (23 %) and low (35 %) values. RU in QTP had a low (38 %) and average (34 %) values. Finally, RS in most QTP area was low (32 %) and average (28 %). The correlations between the three indices (LAQ, CS and RU) and the final model were high and significant (>0.70). Despite the significance, the correlations observed among the indicators were low (<0.45). LAQ and CS were related to the vegetation and temperature zone, and cities with high levels of urbanisation have a high recreation utilisation. From the southeast to the northwest of the QTP, the altitude increases and the level of recreation services decreases. The dominant factor of the northeastern urban landscape is recreation utilisation, and the climate suitability is the southeast tibetan forest landscape. The framework developed a theoretical foundation for recreation planning and management.

Proactive approach to recreation and efficiency of recovery in flexible work arrangements

IntroductionFlexible work arrangements promote not only acceptable and convenient work modes; for many professionals flexible work leads to increase in workload and in working time (Rubery et al., 2016; Thompson et al., 2015). As the result, lack of recreation time could be named as a direct consequence of high workload (Pang, 2017). The key problem is the investigation of attitudes towards recreation and recovery: are professionals more reactive or proactive in their recreation planning, and do they recover well?ObjectivesThe aim of the research: to reveal (1) typical types of recreation planning for professionals with high level of work flexibility and (2) recovery efficiency level.MethodsThe research was conducted in representatives of various professions, who work in flexible work arrangements (n=378). The diagnostic set included inventories for assessment of recreation planning type (Luzyanina, Kuznetsova, 2014) and recovery efficiency (Leonova, 2019).ResultsTwo types of recreation planning have been found: proactive (26% of respondents) and reactive (74%). For the reactive approach lack of targeted strategies of recreation planning has been found. Proactive approach is characterized by tracking signs of resources decrease and advance planning of work breaks. There are differences in recovery efficiency (p&lt;0,001) in proactive and reactive professionals: non-efficient recovery is typical for the majority of professionals with the reactive type to recreation planning.ConclusionsThe detailed analysis of proactive/reactive approaches manifestations and peculiarities of recreation planning could help to predict not only the recovery level, but the mechanisms of advanced self-regulation, adequate to high work flexibility.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

From recreation ecology to a recreation ecosystem: A framework accounting for social-ecological systems

Recreation ecology has its foundations in the premise that recreationists have a negative impact on ecosystems, and are thus treated as an ecological stressor. However, ecology is the study of interactions between organisms and the environment, not just an organism's impacts on the environment. While we do not dispute the evidence that recreationists can negatively impact ecosystems, recreation can also have positive effects for conservation. Contextualizing interactions between recreation and ecology within broader multi-scale social-ecological systems can advance our scientific knowledge of these interactions to provide a basis for more effective management of protected areas that host recreation. In this paper, we propose the concept that recreation-ecosystem interactions are part of a system with a range of positive, negative, and neutral interactions with feedbacks of variable intensity occurring between multiple levels. We simplify this concept into a two-dimensional quadrant system to describe the spectrum of interactions within a range of social-ecological systems, which could be developed for countless natural and social systems. For example, the social portion of this system includes values such as cultural, health and well-being, tribal, and many others; examples of the ecological portion include vegetation, biodiversity, soils, and more. As an illustrative example, we develop the system for recreation-wildlife interactions. We also emphasize the importance of integrating recreation and wildlife research and management through approaches based on this framework. Future research in this area might be improved by considering this novel framework to balance the needs of humans and protect natural ecosystems in protected area management decisions. The framework aims to help outdoor recreation managers and researchers better - Address existing gaps in research and management, - Collaborate with those working in complementary fields , - Develop more integrative recreation planning and management tools, and - Resolve persistent problems in outdoor recreation management.

Meeting the need for a rational basis for open space and recreation planning in new high density residential areas: the Recreational Activity Benchmark model

ABSTRACT The development of new high-density residential precincts in Australian cities, notably in association with new public transport nodes (Transit-Oriented Developments – TODs), presents challenges for planners in creating living environments, including provision for open space and recreation. The traditional ‘standards’ method and other existing approaches to planning for open space and recreation have significant limitations in coping with the challenges presented by high-density developments. It is argued in this paper that a planning approach focused on recreation participation as the key performance criterion can provide a solution. The Recreational Activity Benchmark (RAB) model is presented and shown to be capable of providing for appropriate levels of recreational activity while making savings in land requirements.

Accounting for diversity: Exploring the inclusivity of recreation planning in the United Kingdom’s protected areas

Protected areas (PAs) deliver a wide variety of benefits to visitors including mental and physical health, environmental knowledge, and a sense of community. Unfortunately, many barriers have led to the underrepresentation of several socio-demographic groups within PAs (e.g., minority ethnic groups, those with disabilities). In the UK, a clear national mandate exists for designing more accessible outdoor spaces, but despite a growing understanding of the access barriers experienced by underrepresented groups, the institutional factors contributing to these barriers remain underexplored. To help alleviate this gap, we examined governing documents for UK PAs and surveyed PA managers to explore links between PA management approaches in the UK and access disparities. We found that diversity and inclusion objectives were seldom emphasized within management plans, yet most PA managers held clear concerns about the underrepresentation of several groups. We also identified several shortcomings in PA management that could impede the achievement of diversity targets. Most notably, PA organizations seldom targeted minority ethnic groups and rarely placed purposeful emphasis on the delivery of social benefits, instead prioritizing environmental knowledge which they most often linked to environmentalism. These findings reflect the Anglo-normative lens that has historically governed PA management in the UK. To fully embrace national diversity objectives, PA organizations should explicitly prioritize diversity and inclusion and integrate alternative worldviews related to the human-nature relationship.

GIS&amp;T in Recreation Planning and Management

GIS&amp;T in Recreation Planning and Management

Research on the Planning of Mountain Type Lodging in Forest Recreation Industry Based on ArcGis Technology--The Example of Forest Recreation Base in Gaoping City Praying Mountain Resort

The advent of the post-industrial era has caused a specific degree of damage to both the habitat and the natural environment. Forest recreation has become an emerging mode of health tourism for people in China. B&B is an important part of forest recreation planning. In this paper, we use ArcGis software to quantify the elevation and slope of the forest recreation base in Gaoping City, Shanxi Province, and provide some data and support for the construction of mountain-type B&B in forest recreation base.

POPULATION AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF RECREATIONAL AND TOURIST POTENTIAL

The article defines the directions that it is recommended to assess the role of the population in the formation of recreation and tourism activities (RTA). It is proved the need to investigate the role of the population in the RTA in two main directions: 1) as a subject of recreational and tourist systems in its relation to their media (objects); 2) combined - as a subject and component of the object of recreational and tourist systems. The population forms the flows of recreation and tourists, developing relevant structures and mechanisms for their recreational and tourist service, organizes directions and fields of economic and non-economic activities that ensure the recreational needs of the population, creates a specialized recreation infrastructure, develops and implements a variety of functional and territorial organization of recreation and tourism, forms at the national and international level of territorial division of labor.&#x0D; In order to evaluate the recreational potential of a separate plot or object usually consider not the entire nomenclature of conditions and resources, but only a characteristic or typical combination. Each territory, each object of recreation and tourism has its own set (complex) of resource characteristics. And this circumstance greatly facilitates the procedure for a comprehensive assessment of recreational potential due to elimination (allocation) of a characteristic complex of terms and resources of RTA. A similar situation arises for a functional assessment of recreational potential. The valuation of conditions and resources are not developed for a general list of species and forms of RTA, but for those that are distributed in this area in this locality.&#x0D; It is determined that among the numerous characteristics and indicators of recreational potential, the concept of recreational and tourist attractiveness is one of the objective indicators of resource potential. Estimation of recreational potential for quantitative indicators of recreation and tourists and their numerical and spatial distributions creates an objective basis for all other characteristics and indicators of RTD.&#x0D; Another important characteristic of the recreational potential, which forms the population as a factor of RTA is a recreation capacity of territories and objects of RTA. The concept of "recreational capacity" is related to "recreational attractiveness". Attractiveness characterizes recreational territories and objects for their attraction, according to real flows of recreation and tourists. Recreational capacity is intended to set the upper limits of such attractiveness. Attractiveness represents the actual use of a recreational resource, and the capacity indicates its critical level of recreation, which does not lead to degradation of this resource. In recreational geography, tourism and planning of territories, this direction is well known and extremely designed. The indicators of recreational capacities for certain types and recreation forms and recreations - beach baths, short-term rest in green zones, anthropogenic load of resort zones and areas of the natural reserve fund, maximum population density in various functional zones of the big city, etc. At the same time, the zonal principles of assessing the recreational capacity of objects and areas of recreation and tourism have not yet been developed, and this actual problem is waiting for its researchers.&#x0D; The population forms a so-called anthropogenic load on the territory, and its economic activity is man-made load. Anthropogenic-technogenic load is considered as a factor of recreational and tourist activities, in turn, indicators of anthropogenic-technogenic load are the original characteristics of "anti-resource" of recreation potential. The article has proven that in the context of the study of the prerequisites for the development of recreation and tourist activities of the region also need to analyze both the quality of life of the population, in addition to the assessment of this indicator have a high contrast and diversity in the country.&#x0D; Key words: population, recreational and tourist potential, attractiveness of recreational territories, anthropogenic-technogenic load, quality of life of the population.