Social media influences National Park visitation.

Visitation to National Parks in the United States increased by more than 25% since 2010, rising from roughly 70 to 90 million annual visitors. Anecdotes suggest that this increase was driven by the advent of social media in the early-to-mid 2010s, generating a new form of exposure for parks, and has led to concerns about overcrowding and degradation of environmental quality. However, there is little empirical evidence on the role of social media in influencing recreation decisions. Here, I construct a dataset on social media exposure (SME) for each National Park and relate that exposure to changes in visitation over the last two decades. High SME parks see visitation increase by 16 to 22% relative to parks with less exposure, which comes with a concomitant increase in revenue. Low SME parks have no, or negative, changes in visitation. These estimates account for unobserved park heterogeneity and are based on an instrumental variables strategy that predicts exposure with a park's online popularity prior to the social media era. Additional analysis suggests that recent social media posts that include media attachments increase visitation, while posts with negative sentiment reduce visitation. These results provide insight for the National Park Service-which faces more than $22 billion in deferred maintenance costs and is considering policy options to manage demand-as well as for management of recreation on other public lands.

Food deserts exposure, density of fast-food restaurants, and park access: Exploring the association of food and recreation environments with obesity and diabetes using global and local regression models.

To prevent obesity and diabetes environmental interventions such as eliminating food deserts, restricting proliferation of food swamps, and improving park access are essential. In the United States, however, studies that examine the food and park access relationship with obesity and diabetes using both global and local regression are lacking. To guide county, state, and federal policy in combating obesity and diabetes, there is a need for cross-scale analyses to identify that relationship at national and local levels. This study applied spatial regression and geographically weighted regression to the 3,108 counties in the contiguous United States. Global regression show food deserts exposure and density of fast-food restaurants have non-significant association with obesity and diabetes while park access has a significant inverse association with both diseases. Geographically weighted regression that takes into account spatial heterogeneity shows that, among southern states that show high prevalence of obesity and diabetes, Alabama and Mississippi stand out as having opportunity to improve park access. Results suggest food deserts exposure are positively associated with obesity and diabetes in counties close to Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee while density of fast-food restaurants show positive association with two diseases in counties of western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania. These findings will help policymakers and public health agencies in determining which geographic areas need to be prioritized when implementing public interventions such as promoting healthy food access, limiting unhealthy food options, and increasing park access.

Identifying multilevel predictors of behavioral outcomes like park use: A comparison of conditional and marginal modeling approaches.

This study compared marginal and conditional modeling approaches for identifying individual, park and neighborhood park use predictors. Data were derived from the ParkIndex study, which occurred in 128 block groups in Brooklyn (New York), Seattle (Washington), Raleigh (North Carolina), and Greenville (South Carolina). Survey respondents (n = 320) indicated parks within one half-mile of their block group used within the past month. Parks (n = 263) were audited using the Community Park Audit Tool. Measures were collected at the individual (park visitation, physical activity, sociodemographic characteristics), park (distance, quality, size), and block group (park count, population density, age structure, racial composition, walkability) levels. Generalized linear mixed models and generalized estimating equations were used. Ten-fold cross validation compared predictive performance of models. Conditional and marginal models identified common park use predictors: participant race, participant education, distance to parks, park quality, and population >65yrs. Additionally, the conditional mode identified park size as a park use predictor. The conditional model exhibited superior predictive value compared to the marginal model, and they exhibited similar generalizability. Future research should consider conditional and marginal approaches for analyzing health behavior data and employ cross-validation techniques to identify instances where marginal models display superior or comparable performance.

A Mendelian randomization-based study of the causal relationship between leisure sedentary behavior and delirium.

BACKGROUND: Delirium is an acute or subacute change in mental status caused by various factors. We evaluated the causal relationship between leisure sedentary behaviors (LSBs) and delirium. METHODS: A two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study was performed to evaluate the causal relationship between sedentary behaviors (time spent watching television, time spent using computer, and time spent driving) and delirium. Statistical information for the associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the traits of interest was obtained from independent consortia that focused on European populations. The dataset for LSBs was acquired from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) comprising a substantial sample size: 437887 samples for time spent watching television, 360,895 for time spent using computer, and 310,555 for time spent driving. A GWAS with 1269 delirium cases and 209,487 controls was used to identify genetic variation underlying the time of LSBs. We used five complementary MR methods, including inverse variance weighted method (IVW), MR-Egger, weighted median, weighted mode, and simple mode. RESULTS: Genetically predicted time spent watching television (odds ratio [OR]: 2.921, 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.381-6.179) demonstrated significant association with delirium (P = 0.005), whereas no significant associations were observed between time spent using computer (OR: 0.556, 95 % CI: 0.246-1.257, P = 0.158) and time spent driving (OR: 1.747, 95 % CI: 0.09-3. 40, P = 0.713) and delirium. Sensitivity analyses supported a causal interpretation, with limited evidence of significant bias from genetic pleiotropy. Moreover, our MR assumptions appeared to be upheld, enhancing the credibility of our conclusions. LIMITATIONS: Larger sample sizes are needed to validate the findings of our study. CONCLUSION: Time spent watching television is a significant risk factor for delirium. Reducing television time may be an important intervention for those at higher risk of delirium.

Social vulnerability and traumatic brain injury hospitalizations from sports and recreation among pediatric patients in the United States.

PURPOSE: This study examined the associations between individual as well as neighborhood social vulnerability and sports and recreation-related traumatic brain injury (SR-TBI) hospitalizations among pediatric patients in the U.S. METHODS: We obtained 2009, 2010 and 2011 hospitalization data in the U.S. from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database, linked it to 2010 neighborhood social vulnerability index (SVI) data from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), and assigned U.S. hospitals to one of four SVI quartiles. SR-TBI outcomes studied include: odds of hospitalization, length of stay (LOS), and discharge to post-acute care (DTPAC). RESULTS: We found associations between race/ethnicity and all SR-TBI outcomes; however, sex, primary payer, and neighborhood overall SVI were only associated with LOS. Compared to White children, Native American children had almost three times higher odds of hospitalization for SR-TBI (OR: 2.82, 95% CI: 1.30, 6.14), 27% longer LOS (ß: 27.06, 95% CI: 16.56, 38.51), but 99.9% lower odds of DTPAC (OR: 0.001, 95% CI: 0.00, 0.01). Compared to children with private insurance, children with public insurance had 11% longer LOS (ß: 10.83, 95% CI: 8.65, 13.05). Hospitalization in neighborhood with higher overall SVI was associated with longer LOS (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that individual and neighborhood social vulnerability can have a significant impact on the health outcomes of children, especially in the context of SR-TBI.

Association between leisure sedentary behaviors and hypertension risk: A prospective cohort study and two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis in Europeans.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the potential causal relationship between domain-specific sedentary behaviors (including television watching, computer use, and driving) and hypertension risk in European populations. METHODS: Initially, we conducted a multivariable Cox regression analysis to evaluate the associations between domain-specific sedentary behaviors and the risk of developing hypertension using data from 261,829 hypertension-free participants in the UK Biobank. To validate the findings of observational analysis, we employed two-sample univariable mendelian randomization (UVMR) analysis utilizing summary statistics from genome-wide association study conducted on European populations. We then performed multivariable mendelian randomization (MVMR) analysis to account for the influence of the risk factors for hypertension. RESULTS: In this prospective observational analysis, individuals who spent >3 h per day watching television had significantly higher risk of developing hypertension (HR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.20-1.29, P < 0.001) compared to those who watched television for 0-1 h per day. The mendelian randomization analysis provided consistent evidence for a causal relationship between prolonged television watching time and hypertension risk (OR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.25-1.69, P < 0.001; all PMVMR < 0.05) in both UVMR and MVMR results. No significant associations were found between computer use, driving behaviors and the risk of hypertension in either the observational or UVMR/MVMR analyses. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide evidence for a causal effect specifically linking higher television watching time to an increased risk of hypertension and indicate the potential effectiveness of reducing television viewing time as a preventive measure to mitigate the risk of hypertension.

Understanding park visitors' soundscape perception using subjective and objective measurement.

Environmental noise knows no boundaries, affecting even protected areas. Noise pollution, originating from both external and internal sources, imposes costs on these areas. It is associated with adverse health effects, while natural sounds contribute to cognitive and emotional improvements as ecosystem services. When it comes to parks, individual visitors hold unique perceptions of soundscapes, which can be shaped by various factors such as their motivations for visiting, personal norms, attitudes towards specific sounds, and expectations. In this study, we utilized linear models and geospatial data to evaluate how visitors' personal norms and attitudes, the park's acoustic environment, visitor counts, and the acoustic environment of visitors' neighborhoods influenced their perception of soundscapes at Muir Woods National Monument. Our findings indicate that visitors' subjective experiences had a greater impact on their perception of the park's soundscape compared to purely acoustic factors like sound level of the park itself. Specifically, we found that motivations to hear natural sounds, interference caused by noise, sensitivity to noise, and the sound levels of visitors' home neighborhoods influenced visitors' perception of the park's soundscape. Understanding how personal factors shape visitors' soundscape perception can assist urban and non-urban park planners in effectively managing visitor experiences and expectations.

Leveraging big data for outdoor recreation management: A case study from the York river in Virginia.

Outdoor recreation is important for improving quality of life, well-being, and local economies, but quantifying its value without direct monetary transactions can be challenging. This study explores combining non-market valuation techniques with emerging big data sources to estimate the value of recreation for the York River and surrounding parks in Virginia. By applying the travel cost method to anonymous human mobility data, we gain deeper insights into the significance of recreational experiences for visitors and the local economy. Results of a zero-inflated Negative Binomial model show a mean consumer surplus value of $26.91 per trip, totaling $15.5 million across nearly 600,000 trips observed in 2022. Further, weekends, holidays, and the summer and fall months are found to be peak visitation times, whereas those with young children and who are Hispanic or over 64 years old are less likely to visit. These findings shed light on various factors influencing visitation patterns and recreation values, including temporal effects and socio-demographics, revealing disparities that warrant targeted efforts for inclusivity and accessibility. Policymakers can use these insights to make informed and sustainable choices in outdoor recreation management, fostering the preservation of natural resources for the benefit of both visitors and the environment.

Unearthing Inequities in the Relationship between Multiple Sociodemographic Factors and Diverse Elements of Park Availability and Quality in a Major Southern Metropolitan Region.

Parks are critical components of healthy communities. This study explored neighborhood socioeconomic and racial/ethnic inequalities in park access and quality in a large U.S. southeastern metropolitan region. A total of 241 block groups were examined, including 77 parks. For each block group, we obtained multiple sociodemographic indicators, including unemployment rate, education level, renter-occupied housing, poverty rate, and racial/ethnic minority composition. All parks were mapped using geographical information systems and audited via the Community Park Audit Tool to evaluate their features and quality. We analyzed seven diverse elements of park quality (transportation access, facility availability, facility quality, amenity availability, park aesthetics, park quality concerns, and neighborhood quality concerns), as well as an overall park quality score by calculating the mean for all parks within each block group. The mean percent of residents below 125% of the poverty level and the percentage of renter-occupied housing units were significantly higher among block groups with any parks in comparison to block groups with no parks. In addition, there were significant positive associations between park transportation access scores and both the percentage of residents with less than high school education and the percent identifying as non-Hispanic white. Moreover, there was a significant negative association between park amenity availability and the block group's unemployed population. Further, a significant negative association between park aesthetics and the population with a lower than high school education percentage was observed. Revealed differences in park availability, park acreage, and park quality dimensions emphasized the need for targeted policy, programmatic, and infrastructure interventions to improve park access and quality and address health disparities.

The digitalization of outdoor recreation: Global perspectives on the opportunities and challenges for protected area management.

The increasing popularity of digital media among protected area visitors poses challenges to protected area management. It alters the way visitors move and behave in the area, potentially increasing disturbance of nature, and it might also affect their expectation prior to the visit and their reflection on it. Simultaneously, digital media allow protected area managers to develop and implement new methods of digital visitor management (DVM). This may help to avoid conflicts and ensure compliance with rules and regulations and may have much further reaching positive consequences. Based on an online survey across 131 parks in 46 countries covering all continents, this study examined for the first time how protected areas view DVM. The results showed that the majority of park managers see digitalization as an opportunity, with 91% agreeing that it enables them to reach larger numbers of visitors and to provide real-time information. The advantage of integrating digital media into visitor monitoring was recognized. However, some park managers perceived digitalization as problematic, with 42% agreeing that it increases visitor load in sensitive areas and 40% agreeing that it leads to more off-trail activity. A clear majority of the respondents (61-91%) saw the proposed methods of DVM as effective or very effective. Accordingly, 70% of them envisioned using DVM in the future. Our findings suggest that the effects of digitalization in outdoor recreation are largely similar across the globe, with no significant influence of economic status or region. They offer insights into the potential of DVM for protected area management, but also its main obstacles. Adoption will be facilitated by increasing staff and funding for DVM. Additionally, knowledge exchange between protected areas can ease the successful implementation of new digital tools.

Market segmentation and consumer motivations in protected natural parks: A study from Spain.

There has been an increase in the interest of tourists in the environment and enjoying it in recent years. This research aims to: a) Identify the motivational dimensions in the protected natural parks and b) Analyze the different segments in the protected natural parks. The research was conducted in the Posets-Maladeta protected area in Spain. The sample comprises 422 surveys got in situ. Data analysis involved the execution of factor analysis and non-hierarchical K-means segmentation. The findings suggest the presence of nine motivational dimensions in the protected natural park studied: self-development, interpersonal relationships, security measures, establishing personal bonds, escape, ego-defensive function, nature, entertainment, and rewards. In addition, within this protected natural park is confirmed the presence of two distinct segments: one focused on nature and the other encompassing multiple motives. The results contribute management guidelines for natural park managers for the benefit of communities and visitors. Additionally, this work can serve as a valuable addition to the academic literature concerning ecotourism.

Priority populations' experiences of the accessibility and inclusion of recreation centres: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Although the health benefits of physical activity are well documented, certain priority populations are often disproportionately insufficiently active and at higher risk of poor health. Recreation centres have the potential to provide accessible and supportive environments for physical activity for all. However, little is known about priority populations' experiences of these venues and their views of how accessibility and inclusion can be optimised. This study aimed to gain in-depth insights of recreation centre experiences and potential strategies for improving inclusion and accessibility amongst priority populations (women, older adults, ethnic minorities, persons living with disabilities/additional needs, individuals identifying as LGBTQIA+, low socio-economic position). METHODS: This qualitative study (2021-2022) involved 18 semi-structured individual interviews with adult priority population users of recreation centres (50% 65 + years, 61.2% female) in one Melbourne municipality. Participants were asked to discuss their positive and negative experiences at the centres and to identify strategies for enhancing accessibility and inclusion. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Content analysis was performed for data analysis. RESULTS: While many participants had positive views of the facilities and programs at the centres, as they met their needs, they also had suggestions for improving accessibility and inclusion. Similarly, most participants were happy with the communications, felt included, and perceived the culture positively. Those who did not feel included at the centres offered many potential strategies for changing the culture, modifying communications (e.g., signage), and establishing partnerships for better access and inclusion. CONCLUSIONS: The present study adds to essential knowledge concerning priority populations' experiences of recreation centres. For recreation facilities that were generally perceived as having positive inclusion and accessibility, the findings nonetheless highlighted suggestions for further enhancement. These strategies may be useful more broadly for improving accessibility and inclusion, thereby promoting physical activity and ultimately health for all.

Impacts of climate change on dogsledding recreation and tourism in Arctic Sweden.

The range of Arctic tourism supply is continuously increasing with a variety of tourism products on offer. However, climate change is becoming a more prominent issue threatening the operations of tourism businesses and the livelihood of some tourism actors, such as dogsledders. This article aims to fill the descriptive research gap that exists regarding the dependency on the physical environment, climate, and weather for dogsledding activities. This is achieved by studying how climate change may threaten possible climate and weather thresholds for these activities, and how climate change may affect the future opportunities for dogsledding in northern Sweden. The study is based on interviews with dogsledders in Arctic Sweden and climate projections from the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI). The results demonstrate the following thresholds for dogsledding activities: (1) dogsledding requires 10-20 cm of packed snow and/or solid ice on bodies of water, (2) above 15 °C is too hot for dogs to pull (wheeled) sledges, (3) cold weather thresholds are determined by visitors' preferences and are not considered a problem for dogsledders or dogs, and (4) rain can cancel tours for all dogsledders, and strong wind can cancel tours for dogsledders located in the mountain regions. Finally, extreme events such as heatwaves, storms, thunderstorms, forest fires, heavy rain, floods, and more rapid weather changes have already affected some dogsledders. These necessary thresholds for dogsledding activities could already be jeopardized for the southern and coastal locations of Arctic Sweden. In addition, the climate projections from SMHI show that warmer days and more precipitation in the form of rain will become more common in the future, especially in the absence of global mitigation measures. However, further research on vulnerability/resilience and adaption strategies for dogsledding activities is necessary to truly understand the impact of climate change.

Weather, weekday, and vacation effects on webcam recorded daily visitor numbers in the alpine winter season.

Winter tourism is an important economic factor in the European Alps, which could be exposed to severely changing meteorological conditions due to climate change in the future. The extent to which meteorology influences winter tourism figures has so far been analyzed mainly based on monthly or seasonal data and in relation to skier numbers. Therefore, we record for the first time daily visitor numbers at five Bavarian winter tourism destinations based on 1518 webcam images using object detection and link them to meteorological and time-related variables. Our results show that parameters such as temperature, cloud cover or sunshine duration, precipitation, snow depth, wind speed, and relative humidity play a role especially at locations that include other forms of winter tourism in addition to skiing. In the ski resorts studied, on the other hand, skiing is mostly independent of current weather conditions, which can be attributed mainly to artificial snowmaking. Moreover, at the webcam sites studied, weekends and vacation periods had an equal or even stronger influence on daily visitor numbers than the current weather conditions. The extent to which weather impacts the (future) visitor numbers of a winter tourism destination must therefore be investigated individually and with the inclusion of non-meteorological variables influencing human behavior.

Inequalities in Leisure-Time Physical Activity and Television Viewing According to Age Among a Brazilian Adult Population.

BACKGROUND: The present study aims to estimate leisure-time physical activity and television (TV) viewing curves according to age stratified by sex, area of residence, and socioeconomic position. METHODS: Using data from the Brazilian National Health Survey, we estimated the prevalence of leisure-time physical activity and TV viewing according to continuous age. The estimates were calculated using fractional polynomials and stratified by sex, wealth, skin color, and area of residence. RESULTS: The sample included 87,376 adults (aged 18 y or over). In general, leisure-time physical activity decreased according to age while TV viewing increased. Regarding behavior of curves according to stratifiers, for leisure-time physical activity the disadvantaged groups maintained a pattern of low physical activity across all age groups or presented the decrease earlier when compared to groups in social advantage. On the other hand, for TV viewing, women presented an increase in prevalence before men, and individuals living in the urban area and the wealthiest group were those with a higher increase according to age. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings may help researchers and policymakers further explore inequalities in physical activity across life in different settings, as well as develop sensitive cultural actions to support more vulnerable people to adopt public health recommendations.

Trail degradation caused by mountain biking and hiking: A multi-dimensional analysis.

Growing demands for on-trail activities have aroused challenges of how to balance outdoor recreation and protected area conservation. Unfortunately, most previous studies have focused on only one or two degradation features, so inconsistent views (i.e., no consensus on impacts induced by hiking and mountain biking) were obtained. This study investigated a mountain biking trail, a hiking trail, and an unmanaged trail in a Hong Kong country park for 1.5 years. Five dimensions of trail degradation, namely Trail Morphometry, Soil Texture, Soil Compaction, Erosion Feature, and Recovery Feature, were identified by Explanatory Factor Analysis. Significant correlations were found between hiking and all five dimensions, while mountain biking was significantly associated only with Trail Morphometry, Erosion Feature, and Recovery Feature. Trail grade and landform grade significantly affected Trail Morphometry, Soil Texture, and Erosion Feature, but trail slope alignment was a null predictor. Hiking caused more severe trail degradation than mountain biking, even after controlling for topography. These findings supplement the existing literature by providing a comprehensive understanding of the multitude of adverse impacts caused by hiking and mountain biking. This study provides a valuable reference for sustainable trail management in protected areas that receive both hikers and mountain bikers.

Playing it safe: The relationship between parent attitudes to risk and injury, and children's adventurous play and physical activity.

BACKGROUND: Children naturally seek risk in play and adventurous play outdoors confers many benefits, including the potential to increase moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). This study aimed to investigate the relationship between parent attitudes to risk and injury, and their elementary school-aged child's daily adventurous play and MVPA. METHODS: A panel sample of 645 Australian parents/guardians completed an online survey consisting of several validated measures of risk and injury attitudes, and physical activity and play behaviour. Data were analysed via descriptive statistics, univariate and multivariable regressions using Stata 17. A series of exploratory univariate logistic regressions were conducted, followed by a series of multivariable logistic regressions fitted to test the association between parent risk and injury attitudes and (i) children's MVPA, (ii) active play and (iii) adventurous play, while adjusting for socio-demographic factors. RESULTS: Most adult participants (81%) were female. The mean age of the child participants (53% male) was 8.6 years (SD = 2.4). On average, parents were positive about children's engagement with risk, however, 78% of parents had low tolerance of risk when presented with specific play scenarios, and attitudes towards injuries varied, with mothers more concerned than fathers. After adjusting for confounders, children with parents who were tolerant of risk in play were more likely to meet the MVPA guideline of ≥60 min daily (OR 2.86, CI: 1.41, 5.82, p < 0.004) and spend more time playing adventurously (OR 3.03, CI: 1.82, 5.06, p < 0.001). Positive associations for MVPA and adventurous play were observed across all models examining parent attitudes to risk and injury. Younger children engaged in more play and physical activity, however, more positive parent attitudes appeared to moderate the age-related influences. CONCLUSIONS: We found a divergence between the outcomes parents desire for their children through engagement with risk and the play activities they are comfortable with in practice. Parent attitudes to risk and injury are potentially modifiable factors that may increase children's affordances for adventurous play and physical activity. Interventions that provide parents with practical approaches to address injury concerns and support children's risk-taking in play outdoors are recommended.

Vegetation type and trail use interact to affect the magnitude and extent of recreational trail impacts on plant communities.

Protected areas may prohibit large-scale deforestation and development, but still allow recreation via networks of roads and trails. Managers need to understand how the type of trail usage and the habitat the trail traverses influence the nature and extent of the trail impact. We measured the effect of trails on plant communities in a large, protected area in the southern Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Canada. We surveyed 118 transects adjacent to trails and 24 control transects at least 100 m from trails, recording the presence and abundance of all vascular plant species. We modelled changes in species richness, community composition, and the presence of exotic species as a function of trail type, vegetation type, and the distance from the trail edge. Overall, species richness increased with proximity to trails and community composition shifted significantly, with a greater likelihood of exotic species presence closer to trails. Heightened species richness and greater probability of exotic species presence extended a greater distance from off-highway vehicle trails than from footpaths, but only in shrubland and mixed forest vegetation. In addition, exotic species at higher elevations were most often associated with off-highway vehicle trails. Our study shows that the magnitude and extent of trail impacts on plant communities varies depending on trail type, vegetation type, and sometimes interactions between the two. The high frequency and intensity of off-highway vehicle trail use likely increases both propagule pressure and the severity of disturbance, while vegetation type determines light availability and hence invasibility. Managers can use this information to prioritize trail areas for exotic species monitoring and restrict high-intensity off-highway vehicle trails to less sensitive vegetation types at lower elevations.

Leisure, Recreation, and Life Satisfaction: A Longitudinal Study for People With Spinal Cord Injury.

Background: Leisure and recreation (LR) are positively associated with social integration and life satisfaction in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). However, few studies have longitudinally observed long-term changes in LR participation among people with SCI and discussed the association of these activities with social integration and life satisfaction. Objectives: This study aims to determine for people with SCI, within a 45-year period, the association between mobility and LR participation; the associations between LR participation and social integration and life satisfaction, respectively; and whether the association between LR participation and life satisfaction is mediated by social integration. Methods: Growth modeling and linear mixed modeling were employed as the primary data analysis tools to explore longitudinal changes in LR participation, social integration, and life satisfaction. A mediation test was conducted to examine the potential mediation effect of social integration on the relationship between LR participation and life satisfaction. Results: The mobility level, LR participation hours, and social integration of people with SCI decreased gradually during the 45-year period, whereas life satisfaction increased as they lived longer with the injury. LR participation was consistently and positively associated with social integration and life satisfaction of people with SCI. A mediation effect by social integration was observed between LR and life satisfaction. Conclusion: A decline in mobility level was associated with a decrease in LR participation over time for people with SCI. Engaging in LR activities regularly and maintaining a certain level of social interaction are consistently and positively associated with long-term life satisfaction.

[Impact of the city recreation and sports environment on health of its residents].

Recreation and sports environment is an essential part of the urban space, which is the most important factor in improving and maintaining health of the citizens, contributing to better mental health, cognitive functions, lower overall mortality, higher life expectancy, lower morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases, prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes, better pregnancy and birth outcomes. Recreation and sports environment of the urban space includes the city's greenery, recreational areas, areas for physical activities and sports, and waterfront areas. This study uses a correlation analysis to analyze the impact of the city recreation and sports environment on health of the working and post-working population. The study was conducted in 2019 on the example of large and huge urban cities of the Moscow region populated with more than 125,000 people. Based on the correlation analysis results, the authors have demonstrated the impact of the overall set of all sports facilities, sports structures, flat sports structures, swimming pools, sports halls, and public green spaces in cities on health of the post-working population. The study has also shown the impact of swimming pools, the overall set of all types of sports facilities, sports structures, flat sports structures, sports halls, and public green spaces in cities on health of the working-age population. The authors come to the conclusion that development and ongoing support and maintenance of the city recreation and sports environment serve as an important objective of the city administrations, resulting in the improved physical activity of the citizens and lower morbidity among the urban population.