This thesis explores the potential contribution that could be made to core area revitalization through the integration of outdoor recreation planning, ecological planning, and urban planning. The revitalization of urban centres, and especially those of mid-size cities, has typically been explored through policy planning, economic vitality, and urban design. An area, which often has been neglected, is that of urban outdoor recreation, specifically recreation that is carried out in an ecologically compatible fashion. The thesis examines theoretical and practical approaches in outdoor recreation planning, ecological planning, and urban planning, addressing any gaps and insufficiencies that seem to hinder the integration of the three disciplines in terms of devising practical solutions to identified issues. The core area in the city of Waterloo serves as a case study to examine the feasibility of integrating ecological planning, outdoor recreation planning, and urban planning. This research indicates that ecological planning is a versatile and responsive planning approach whereas outdoor recreation planning and urban planning seem disconnected from each other. Planning for outdoor recreation needs to be more inclusive and coordinated with other disciplines, such as urban planning and ecological planning. The thesis applies these findings in recommendations for the City of Waterloo to consider when planning its core area.

Rooted in a critical dialogue that endeavours to theorize experience in contrast to the colonial impetus, this dissertation explores the lived experience of Appalachian Trail thru-hikers. As a result of this disposition, the purpose of this dissertation is to expose the dynamics associated with colonized experiences and empirically research the lived experience of thru-hikers from an ecophenomenological perspective. The subsequent approach views the activities of the lived human body as the process through which the world comes into being. Building on Merleau-Pontian phenomenology, ecophenomenology provides the foundation of the experiential self, and thus underlies the representation of the trail environment as a sensuous field of human activity where one is merged with one's socio-ecological surroundings. Explication of empirical materials from 27 participant interviews resulted in a wide range of thru-hiking experiences representing the operative essence of Appalachian Trail thru-hiking. The operative essence was identified across 4 broad dimensions: Perseity, Sojourning, Kinship, and Wild Imbrication. Each dimension comprised a dialectic which emerged from interview excerpts both congruent with and in contrast to wilderness ideology. Further exploration of wilderness ideals resulted in thru-hikers negotiating tensions related to ideological wilderness meanings and their own actual thru-hiking experiences. This negotiation allowed a broader conception of wilderness to be illustrated as a continuum of meaningful experiences. In addition, ecoliteracy emerged as an experientially driven learning process whereby thru-hikers negotiate alternative meanings of wilderness with ideological meanings. The implications for experiential and wilderness related research along with management concerns are discussed.

Visitor activities in parks often have a heavy impact on the soil, vegetation, water and wildlife. In front country areas, the most extreme damage is concentrated on and adjacent to recreational trails. Aside from controlling the numbers, activities and behaviours of trail users, managers may choose to make trails more resistant to impact through surfacing. Unfortunately, surfacing may have negative influences on park visitors' enjoyment of trails by limiting access or detracting from the primitive setting. In addition, some surfaces may be ineffective in certain environmental conditions such as wet ground or steep slopes. Finally, the wide variety in construction and maintenance costs may make some surface types economically unfeasible. The goals of this research are to investigate the role of trail surfacing in the management of impacts from outdoor recreation; to develop better understanding of the social, economic and environmental aspects of trail surfacing decisions; and to explore a comprehensive framework for incorporating these three factors in trail management. It is hoped that this research can assist park managers in selecting surfacing options to reduce visitor impact without excessively compromising recreational experience or organizational limitations, such as financial resources. In addition to a comprehensive review of literature on visitor impact management on trails and surfacing techniques, this research employs three methods to further investigate the social, environmental and economic aspects of trail surfacing: a trail user survey, manager survey and trail condition assessment. The trail user survey was conducted at two well-used natural areas in southwestern Ontario, Canada: Presqu'ile Provincial Park and Belfountain Conservation Area. Surveys at each area explored trail users' perceptions and preferences of trail surfacing techniques in late summer 1999. The managers' survey provided insight into organizational approaches to surfacing, including construction cost and observations on recreational or environmental effectiveness. Finally, the trail condition assessment explored an approach to determining environmental effectiveness of trail surfacing techniques, but was limited by the physical and recreational variation between trails. Seven recommendations for trail managers are presented, tying in several conceptual frameworks of visitor impact management and trail surfacing decisions developed in the thesis. First, trail managers are recommended to develop a full understanding of trail design principles and alternative visitor impact management techniques. If surfacing is selected as the best impact management technique, trail managers should obtain as much information on user characteristics, environmental conditions and organizational limitations as possible. Despite the benefits and drawbacks for all surfaces, road base gravel (or angular screenings with fines) merits special attention as an excellent surface, while asphalt and concrete are not recommended for front country, semi-primitive recreation. Finally, trail managers are encouraged to share information on surfacing more freely and open surfacing decision processes to affected trail users. Overall, trail managers are provided with an approach to surfacing decisions that considers the social, environmental and economic aspects of trail surfacing, with the goal of working toward more enjoyable, environmentally responsible and cost-effective trail solutions.

This thesis explores the potential contribution that could be made to core area revitalization through the integration of outdoor recreation planning, ecological planning, and urban planning. The revitalization of urban centres, and especially those of mid-size cities, has typically been explored through policy planning, economic vitality, and urban design. An area, which often has been neglected, is that of urban outdoor recreation, specifically recreation that is carried out in an ecologically compatible fashion. The thesis examines theoretical and practical approaches in outdoor recreation planning, ecological planning, and urban planning, addressing any gaps and insufficiencies that seem to hinder the integration of the three disciplines in terms of devising practical solutions to identified issues. The core area in the city of Waterloo serves as a case study to examine the feasibility of integrating ecological planning, outdoor recreation planning, and urban planning. This research indicates that ecological planning is a versatile and responsive planning approach whereas outdoor recreation planning and urban planning seem disconnected from each other. Planning for outdoor recreation needs to be more inclusive and coordinated with other disciplines, such as urban planning and ecological planning. The thesis applies these findings in recommendations for the City of Waterloo to consider when planning its core area.

The transition of working patterns has led the work force today focus more on brain than labor, hence strengthen the desire for leisure. The relationship between leisure and work nowadays has different meaning. Besides of traditional concepts such as good for health or the release of work pressure, leisure is further considered to be a new goal to enhance job involvement. Factors of social capital such as trust and network are the significant elements of human interaction, which can not only create self-welfare but also bring better achievement on work. To work force with different degree of social capital, it is believed that different level of involvement to work would generate. From the start point of leisure instead of traditional point that focuses on work, the research combines and integrates perspectives of outdoor recreation, job involvement and social capital from different regions, exploring the relationship between leisure and work. Analyzed with SEM, questionnaire survey is adopted aiming at Kaohsiung Government¡¦s Officials. The research objects are divided into two groups with different degree of social capital, conducting the model construction and differentiation test separately. The research structure includes 9 variables: ¡§job involvement¡¨; ¡§net¡¨ and ¡§trust¡¨ in social capital; ¡§attitude¡¨, ¡§subjective norm¡¨, ¡§perceived behavioral control¡¨, ¡§self-efficacy¡¨, ¡§behavioral intention¡¨ and ¡§behavioral frequency¡¨ in Theory of Planned Behavior of outdoor recreation. The results of the research have verified 11 hypotheses, among which 7 have been significant in both two high and low groups. The significance of the above-mentioned results is the following: (1) interpersonal ¡§network¡¨ increases interpersonal ¡§trust¡¨; (2) interpersonal ¡§network¡¨ increases the degree of ¡§job involvement¡¨; (3) after officials reflect on the ¡§subjective norm¡¨, the ¡§behavioral intention¡¨ of outdoor recreation is remarkably promoted; (4) officials¡¦ ¡§attitude¡¨ increases the ¡§behavioral intention¡¨ of outdoor recreation; (5) the ¡§perceived behavioral control¡¨ of the resources and opportunities needed for officials to consider undertaking behavior outstandingly influence the ¡§behavioral intention¡¨ of outdoor recreation; (6) ¡§subjective norm¡¨ increases the brief of ¡§attitude¡¨ of outdoor recreation; (7) officials¡¦ ¡§self-efficacy¡¨ reflect on the ¡§perceived behavioral control¡¨ of the resources and opportunities in outdoor recreation. In high social capital group, officials¡¦ cognition of ¡§behavioral intention¡¨ of outdoor recreation reflects on the degree of ¡§job involvement¡¨. In low social capital group, after officials reflect on the ¡§perceived behavioral control¡¨ of the resources and opportunities in outdoor recreation, the brief of ¡§attitude¡¨ is increased.

Thesis (M.A.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2000. / Bibliography: leaves 170-185. Also available online.

Thesis (M.L.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

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Tidigare undersökningar av motivationen att utöva friluftsliv har identifierat motiv som social samvaro, fysisk aktivitet, naturupplevelser och avkoppling, dock har området mest berörts i samband med planering och förvaltning av naturområden. Den här studien har undersökt motiv bakom människans friluftslivsutövande i syfte att förstå dessa drivkrafter i relation till mänskliga behov. Studien bestod av 31 deltagare från olika delar av Sverige, i åldrarna 22-75 med varierande sysselsättning, friluftslivs-utbildning, civilstatus och nationalitet, varav 16 kvinnor. Data samlades in genom att deltagarna fick skriva berättelser om sin motivation. Det insamlade materialet meningskoncentrerades och analysen resulterade i att tre abstrakta motiv kunde urskiljas: (1) att komma bort från något, samt (2) att få inre och (3) yttre stimulans. Utövandet har visat sig tillfredsställa flertalet behov och främjar på så vis välmående. Vidare bidrar studien till kunskap om vad den friluftsaktiva individen upplever att hon behöver. Resultaten stämmer väl överens med tidigare forskning.