Nearby outdoor recreation behaviour and associated demands in Swiss agglomerations. Results of a survey in St. Gallen in 2009.
Pressure on peri-urban nearby outdoor recreation areas (NORAs, Germ. Naherholungsgebiete) in Switzerland is increasing due to a growing number of recreationists and increasing landscape fragmentation. To provide nearby recreational areas that are of high quality and meet the recreation needs of the population, it is necessary to understand their nearby recreation needs and the factors that influence their nearby outdoor recreation behaviour.
A survey was carried out in November 2009 in the city of St. Gallen (response rate = 20.8%, N = 333) to investigate the recreation behaviour of the citizens of St. Gallen in nearby forest and open green spaces. Potential social and spatial influence factors, as well as landscape preferences and nearby recreation motives, were measured and the use intensities were spatially modelled. Participant subsamples were asked to describe their nearby recreation behaviours on either workdays or non work days.