Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
To understand the evolution of recreation planning and the role of public sector agencies,
it is useful to briefly examine the historical context.
THE EVOLUTION OF LEISURE AND RECREATION PLANNING
In many industrialising nations, the nineteenth century saw the intervention by
philanthropists and reformers to address the squalor and living conditions of the working
population, embodied in government legislation. Environmental improvement was
predicated on the notion that it had a positive effect on the human condition. This shaped
government legislation where a wide range of Utopian, humanitarian and determinist
attitudes (see D.Taylor 1999) were reflected in the debates on improvement. In the UK,
the Housing and Town Planning Act 1909 highlighted the need for government
intervention to generate more socially appropriate forms of land use which market forces
would not address (i.e. public open space). In the period after 1800, and the UK planning
acts of 1909, 1919, 1932, 1947, 1968, 1980, 1986 shaped the subsequent role of the state
in town and planning in relation to leisure, where political ideology shaped the nature of
state intervention in the UK. In a rural context, the Countryside Act 1968 established a
network of country parks, picnic sites, nature trails and bird sanctuaries. This was
accompanied by the state's division of planning powers into two levels of local
government: structure plans came under county and regional authorities, with a view to a
ten- to twenty-year time frame and framework for local plans which were the
responsibility of district authorities. Despite subsequent modifications in the 1980s and
1990s in the 'retreat from state planning', these two levels of planning remain. They can
also be discerned in many other countries. Much of their concern has been with land use
planning and site-specific planning for recreation, since this has been the public sector
concern: the ordering of leisure space and provision through time.
RECREATION PLANNING: THE CONCERN WITH SPACE AND
PLACE
According to Pigram and Jenkins (1999:270), 'In the planning of recreation space, the
aim should be to provide a range of functional and aesthetically pleasing environments
for outdoor recreation, which avoid the friction of unplanned development, without
lapsing into uniformity and predictability'. Since people decide on recreation
participation as a discretionary use of time and on a voluntary basis, planning is beset by
a wide range of factors that need to be considered. One of the most persuasive issues is
the trends and tastes in leisure and outdoor recreation. Here the problem is in matching
potential demand to the supply of recreation space, while a growing sophistication among
recreation users means issues such as quality and satisfaction are also important in public
sector provision.
There is also a temporal and cyclical factor which is often overlooked, namely that in
times of economic downturn, recreation assumes a new dimension in the amelioration of
hardship (Glyptis 1989b). At the same time, such economic stringencies may also put the
public sector under increased pressure in terms of its priorities for resource allocation (i.e.
