Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration Commons^™

Evaluating Urban Parks Accessibility And Equity: A Case Study Of Hartford, Ct And New Haven, Ct, Natalie Roach, Mara Tu

Honors Scholar Theses

Public parks provide cities with environmental benefits, positive health effects, recreational opportunities, community building, educational spaces, and public amenities. However, certain populations have been systematically denied their fair share of these benefits because of unjust practices in the creation and maintenance of urban parks. With a lens of environmental justice, the goal of this research was to assess park quality and accessibility of two Connecticut cities, Hartford and New Haven, by gathering publicly available information as well as using GIS tools.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) has an existing ParkScore rating system that evaluates the quality of a city’s …

Mississippi Downtowns: Examining The Relationship Between Downtown Revitalization And Place-Based Economic Development, Cade Slaughter

Honors Theses

This thesis aims to measure the relationship between downtown revitalization and place-based economic development theory in the downtowns of Hernando, Mississippi and New Albany, Mississippi. Collectively, people progress and cultural normalcies shift. This is a facet of life that has historically begotten movement away from the city cores that initially cradled the sole hub of social and professional life. Progression gave way to urban and industrial sprawl that has challenged the American downtown to maintain a spot of relevance and economic as well as social viability.

By analyzing the broad history of the American downtown and also extrapolating interview data …

Air Pollution And Outdoor Recreation On Urban Trails: A Case Study Of The Elizabeth River Trail, Norfolk, James E. Mccann, Chris A.B. Zajchowski, Eddie L. Hill, Xihe Zhu

Human Movement Sciences Faculty Publications

Poor air quality represents a significant health risk for individuals engaging in recreation activities outdoors in urban parks and trails. This study investigated temporal variability in particulate matter (PM) exposure along an urban waterfront trail. We also used recreation choice frameworks to examine the effects of visitors’ perceptions of air quality (AQ) and health benefits on trail use. Average air quality during the collection period was “good” (PM₁₀) to “moderate” (PM_2.5). We found that PM density was significantly higher (p < 0.001), though still in the “moderate” range, at 7–9 a.m., 11 a.m.–1 p.m., and 3–5 p.m., and on weekends. Visitors’ self-reported perceptions of health outcomes, but not air quality, significantly predicted trail use. Results suggest that these experiential factors may affect recreational choices depending on other factors, such as salience. Further research is merited to determine how experiential factors can be integrated with other theories of motivation to understand recreational decision-making.