Visitor Preferences for Visual Changes in Bark Beetle-Impacted Forest Recreation Settings in the United States and Germany.

Extensive outbreaks of tree-killing insects are increasing across forests in Europe and North America due to climate change and other factors. Yet, little recent research examines visitor response to visual changes in conifer forest recreation settings resulting from forest insect infestations, how visitors weigh trade-offs between physical and social forest environment factors, or how visitor preferences might differ by nationality. This study explored forest visitor preferences with a discrete choice experiment that photographically simulated conifer forest stands with varying levels of bark beetle outbreaks, forest and visitor management practices, and visitor use levels and compositions. On-site surveys were conducted with visitors to State Forest State Park in Colorado (n = 200), Lake Bemidji State Park in Minnesota (n = 228), and Harz National Park in Germany (n = 208). Results revealed that the condition of the immediate forest surrounding was the most important variable influencing visitors' landscape preferences. Visitors preferred healthy mature forest stands and disliked forests with substantial dead wood. The number of visitors was the most important social factor influencing visitor landscape preferences. Differences in the influence of physical and social factors on visual preferences existed between study sites. Findings suggest that both visual forest conditions and visitor use management are important concerns in addressing landscape preferences for beetle-impacted forest recreation areas.

Energy expenditure associated with the use of neighborhood parks in 2 cities.

CONTEXT: Availability of public neighborhood parks is associated with physical activity. Little is known about how parks contribute to population energy balance. PURPOSE: This study estimated energy expenditure associated with the use of neighborhood parks and compared energy expenditure by activity areas within parks and by neighborhood race/ethnicity and income. DESIGN: The System for Observing Play and Leisure Activity among Youth (SOPLAY), a direct observation approach, was used to estimate energy expenditure in 10 Tampa (Florida) parks and 19 Chicago (Illinois) parks. SETTING: Parks were selected from census tracts with a moderate to high representation of white, Latino, and African American populations. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 9454 park users were observed. OUTCOME: Sedentary, moderate, and vigorous activities were assigned metabolic equivalence intensity (MET) values of 1.5, 3, and 6, respectively. RESULTS: Park use in Tampa generated 15 336 total METs over the study period. Chicago parks generated 7305.6 METs. Mean METs varied by activity areas in parks. For Chicago parks, mean METs were higher for parks in African American and higher-income neighborhoods. CONCLUSIONS: Public parks can contribute to population energy balance. Policies to make parks available, promotions to encourage park use, and programs to encourage active use of parks are necessary to achieve this potential.

Contributions of cultural services to the ecosystem services agenda.

Cultural ecosystem services (ES) are consistently recognized but not yet adequately defined or integrated within the ES framework. A substantial body of models, methods, and data relevant to cultural services has been developed within the social and behavioral sciences before and outside of the ES approach. A selective review of work in landscape aesthetics, cultural heritage, outdoor recreation, and spiritual significance demonstrates opportunities for operationally defining cultural services in terms of socioecological models, consistent with the larger set of ES. Such models explicitly link ecological structures and functions with cultural values and benefits, facilitating communication between scientists and stakeholders and enabling economic, multicriterion, deliberative evaluation and other methods that can clarify tradeoffs and synergies involving cultural ES. Based on this approach, a common representation is offered that frames cultural services, along with all ES, by the relative contribution of relevant ecological structures and functions and by applicable social evaluation approaches. This perspective provides a foundation for merging ecological and social science epistemologies to define and integrate cultural services better within the broader ES framework.

Correlates of park-based physical activity among children in diverse communities: results from an observational study in two cities.

PURPOSE: This study examined correlates of park-based physical activity (PA) among children in neighborhood parks. DESIGN: Direct observation was used to assess PA among children. SETTING: Public parks in Tampa, Florida (n=10), and Chicago, Illinois (n=18), from low income and high income and racially/ethnically diverse communities. Subjects. Children (n=3410), coded as anyone who appeared to be 10 years or younger, observed at parks in Tampa and Chicago. MEASURES: Physical activity was measured by a modified version of the System for Observing Play and Leisure Among Youth (SOPLAY). ANALYSIS: Descriptive statistics and multilevel regression models were used in data analysis. RESULTS: At the activity observation level, children's PA was positively related to temperature and unstructured activities in Tampa and Chicago parks. Among park activity area predictors, type of activity area was significantly related to PA. In Tampa, more PA was observed on courts, and less PA was observed in shelter areas compared with open space areas. In Chicago, less PA was observed on courts and fields compared with open space areas. Neighborhood income was associated with lower PA in Tampa parks. Neighborhood race/ethnicity was not a significant predictor of children's PA in either city. CONCLUSIONS: Children's PA was linked to modifiable social and environmental features within parks. Strategies to increase PA among children in parks should promote courts, playgrounds, informal activities, and free play.

Park-based physical activity in diverse communities of two U.S. cities. An observational study.

BACKGROUND: Systematic study of human behavior in public parks and specific activity settings can inform policy to promote physical activity in diverse communities. METHODS: Direct observation was used to assess physical activity in public parks in Tampa FL (n=10) and Chicago IL (n=18). Parks were selected from census tracts with high concentrations of white, African-American, and Hispanic populations. Representation from low- and high-income census tracts was also achieved. Physical activity was measured by a modified version of the System for Observing Play and Leisure Activity in Youth (SOPLAY). Activity codes from SOPLAY were transformed to energy expenditure per person (kcal/kg/min). RESULTS: Seventy percent of Tampa and 51% of Chicago park users were observed engaged in sedentary behavior. In both cities, children were more likely than adults to be observed in walking or vigorous activity. In Tampa, parks located in neighborhoods with the highest concentration of Hispanic residents were associated with greatest levels of energy expenditure. In Chicago, parks in neighborhoods with the highest concentration of African Americans showed the highest energy expenditure per person. Gender was associated with physical activity only in Tampa parks. Energy expenditure also varied by activity areas. CONCLUSIONS: More than one half of park users in both cities engaged in sedentary behavior. While differences in park-based physical activity by neighborhood income and racial/ethnic composition were observed, these differences can more likely be attributed to the types of designated activity areas that support physical activity. The study findings suggest that specific configurations of park environments can enhance physical activity in parks.

Promoting active visits to parks: models and strategies for transdisciplinary collaboration.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the shared interest of the public health and parks and recreation sectors in promoting active visits to parks. At the institutional level, both sectors have missions to promote physical activity and view parks as key components in attaining physical activity goals. While some balancing among park goals may be necessary to avoid overuse and resource degradation, active visits more often complement park sustainability goals by reducing automobile and other motorized use impacts. The public health and parks and recreation sectors have each developed ecologic models to understand the determinants and outcomes of park-related physical activity. Transdisciplinary integration of these modeling efforts can lead to a better understanding of how active visits fit within the context of the overall recreational experience and the full range of benefits that parks provide. We conclude by identifying strategies for improving collaboration between the public health and parks and recreation sectors.