Observations on the peri-urban walkways of Christchurch

Abstract

The steady growth in leisure and outdoor recreation over the past three decades has made the task of recreation planning and management more complex. (Stankey and Wood 1982) Areas which provide for outdoor recreation opportunities will face continuing pressures because, "the resource is not infinite and most people need guidance to pursue their recreational activity... without having a detrimental effect on the environment..., it is necessary that recreation is planned for and managed accordingly."(Holder 1983) In part, for these two processes to be effective, there needs to be a link between the 'managers' and the 'users'. This dissertation provides a description and analysis of observations as a method to find out more about the users, and use of, peri-urban walkways of Christchurch. Observations are seen as a component of the overall recreation planning process.