Parks and recreation systems have evolved in remarkable ways over the past two decades. No longer just playgrounds and ballfields, parks and open spaces have become recognized as essential green infrastructure with the potential to contribute to community resiliency and sustainability. To capitalize on this potential, the parks and recreation system planning process must evolve as well. In Parks and Recreation System Planning, David Barth provides a new, step-by-step approach to creating parks systems that generate greater economic, social, and environmental benefits. Barth first advocates that parks and recreation systems should no longer be regarded as isolated facilities, but as elements of an integrated public realm. Each space should be designed to generate multiple community benefits. Next, he presents a new approach for parks and recreation planning that is integrated into community-wide issues. Chapters outline each step—evaluating existing systems, implementing a carefully crafted plan, and more—necessary for creating a successful, adaptable system. Throughout the book, he describes initiatives that are creating more resilient, sustainable, and engaging parks and recreation facilities, drawing from his experience consulting in more than 100 communities across the U.S. Parks and Recreation System Planning meets the critical need to provide an up-to-date, comprehensive approach for planning parks and recreation systems across the country. This is essential reading for every parks and recreation professional, design professional, and public official who wants their community to thrive.

Whether visitors or not, all citizens own public land and its associated resources... Professional, responsive, and carefully considered planning is critical to success in developing, managing, and making accessible outdoor recreation resources. Outdoor Recreation Planning provides guidance for defining where outdoor recreation resource management should and could be going forward and sound advice, principles, and approaches for identifying pathways for getting there. Responsive outdoor recreation resource planning must actively and interactively engage, early and often, the stakeholders, citizens, and others the planning organization is working to serve. Considered planning will look carefully and comprehensively at the opportunities and constraints for achieving success. Outdoor Recreation Planning is unique because it has been prepared by academics and planning practitioners working together to provide a teaching guide as well as a planning applications resource. The authors have practical experience in advising and helping to develop recreation resource planning rules and procedures and in developing master plans for public properties. It is a must read for anyone interested in learning about, protecting, managing, and planning for public outdoor recreation resources.

This book takes a fresh, up-to-date look at all aspects of design of facilities needed by visitors to outdoor recreation destinations.

Community Leisure and Recreation Planning offers an up-to-date, evidence-based approach to planning community leisure and recreation facilities, programs and services. It introduces readers to key theory and best practice in the planning of effective leisure and recreation projects. The book defines planning, leisure, recreation and other key concepts and explains why a thorough planning process is essential to achieving effective outcomes. It presents a comprehensive, integrative four phase model for undertaking leisure and recreation planning, including: pre-planning, planning research, preparing a plan, and implementing, monitoring and evaluating the outputs and outcomes of a plan. It provides a conceptual rationale for each component of the planning process, a detailed explanation of the tools and techniques that can be used, and extensive examples and international case study materials to demonstrate their use. The principles and techniques explained in the book are applicable at a range of community levels from small individual sites to regions, states and even countries. This is an essential course text for all leisure and recreation courses, and invaluable reading for academics, practitioners, stakeholders and students working in leisure and recreation planning, events, culture and sport.

This study shows how to prepare park and recreation plan that meets the need of the people. It integrates systems and site planning with state-of-the-arty exameplesexamples that highlight the recreational portentials of cities in the 1980's.

This textbook presents a comprehensive overview of the environmental impacts of various types of outdoor recreation, and how these can be best managed. As a field of study, recreational ecology is both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary, and the authors seek to develop a deeper understanding of both the role and function of the factors that influence visitor numbers and their impact. An accessible and comprehensive textbook, it features numerous types of outdoor recreational activities including hill walking, rock climbing, mountain marathons, skiing, scuba diving and more. Drawn from several global case studies, the authors estimate the current and future numbers involved in outdoor recreation, and how best these numbers can be managed. Effective visitor impact management actions arise from collaboration between recreation ecologists, social scientists, experienced recreation managers, recreation stakeholders and the recreationalists themselves: as such, this book will be multi-disciplinary in scope. This practical and engaging textbook will be invaluable to students and scholars of outdoor recreation and adventure tourism as well as practitioners and managers working in the field.

Here, outdoor leaders will discover an abundance of ideas that can make their jobs easier, enrich their teaching knowledge and broaden their current programmes. A CD-ROM also accompanies the book and allows users to search for and print only the lessons they plan to use.