Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
specific factors such as socio-demographic variables like age, sex, income and education
shaped the spatial patterns of participation. Yet many early surveys proved to be only
snapshots of recreational use and were not replicated on a regular basis, making
comparisons difficult, while demand changed at such a rapid rate that forecasting
exercises from such results was difficult to sustain. Such studies also failed to
acknowledge the role of latent demand where such opportunities do not currently exist.
Site studies
In terms of studies of demand for rural recreation, these appear to have been the most
numerous among geographers, with the site a spatial entity and the source of supply and
ultimate object of demand. Such micro scale studies of demand and supply proliferated
due to the tendency for research agencies to fund individual site studies, and the
publication of results in research articles offered researchers convenient research
programmes. Such studies may be classified in terms of studies of demand, in relation to
economic evaluation, carrying capacity and user perception. In terms of demand such
studies used a range of innovative techniques, including participant observation (e.g.
Glyptis 1979), while the geographer's preoccupation with patterns of usage together with
a concern for methodological issues such as sampling and respondent bias (e.g. Mercer
1979a) also dominated the literature. The studies of economic evaluation have seen some
geographers move into the realms of economics, with cost-benefit models developed and
reviewed (e.g. Mansfield 1969), where demand is often conceptualised in terms of
sensitivity to distance travelled, cost of travel and entrance fees to derive a simulated
demand curve. Yet research has questioned the rationality of recreational users in spatial
patterns of behaviour and activity in models which assume distance minimisation is the
sole pursuit for satisfaction (see S.L.J.Smith 1983a, 1995 for more detail).
Carrying capacity
According to Owens (1984):
the picture to emerge in the wake of the catalytic effect of demand-
orientated site surveys is of a range of related but ill-coordinated empirical
case studies. It is none the less possible to pick out several broad and
important themes in the accumulated body of research. Two of the most
important are seen in the burgeoning literature on carrying capacity and
user perception studies.
(Owens 1984:166)
Carrying capacity studies developed from the geographer's interest in the recreationist's
impact on resources, as increased participation and the need among managers for greater
resource protection provided a ready-made focus for applied geographical research. Yet
carrying capacity is among one of the most difficult concepts to put into practice
(Patmore 1983; Graefe et al. 1984a). Often one rarely knows what the true carrying
capacity is until it has been exceeded. Mercer (1979a) acknowledges that any search for
the concept of carrying capacity is futile, implying that a simple concept of carrying
