Daniel Laven

The Relationship Between Visitor-Based Standards of Quality and Existing Conditions in Parks and Outdoor Recreation

Abstract Parks and related areas are increasingly adopting management-by-objectives/indicator-based frameworks to protect resources and the quality of visitor experiences. Indicator-based frameworks rely on development of indicators and standards of quality, and research has been developed to measure visitor-based standards of quality. In this research approach, visitors to parks and related areas judge the acceptability of a range of recreation-related impacts to natural/cultural resources and the quality of the visitor experience. The purpose of this paper is to explore the strength and variability of the relationship between visitor-based standards of quality and existing conditions in parks and related areas. Data were derived from studies conducted in 11 U.S. national park system units between 1995 and 2002. Results indicated that visitor-based standards of quality are generally unrelated to existing conditions. Implications of these findings are explored for research on visitor-based standards of quality and related issues, and for the management of parks and outdoor recreation.

From Partnerships to Networks: New Approaches for Measuring U. S. National Heritage Area Effectiveness.

National Heritage Areas (NHAs) are an alternative and increasingly popular form of protected area management in the United States. NHAs seek to integrate environmental objectives with community and economic objectives at regional or landscape scales. NHA designations have increased rapidly in the last 20 years, generating a substantial need for evaluative information about (a) how NHAs work; (b) outcomes associated with the NHA process; and (c) the costs and benefits of investing public moneys into the NHA approach. Qualitative evaluation studies recently conducted at three NHAs have identified the importance of understanding network structure and function in the context of evaluating NHA management effectiveness. This article extends these case studies by examining quantitative network data from each of the sites. The authors analyze these data using both a descriptive approach and a statistically more robust approach known as exponential random graph modeling. Study findings indicate the presence of transitive structures and the absence of three-cycle structures in each of these networks. This suggests that these networks are relatively ‘‘open,’’ which may be desirable, given the uncertainty of the environments in which they operate. These findings also suggest, at least at the sites reported here, that the NHA approach may be an effective way to activate and develop networks of intersectoral organizational partners. Finally, this study demonstrates the utility of using quantitative network analysis to better understand the effectiveness of protected area management models that rely on partnership networks to achieve their intended outcomes.

Evaluating U.S. National Heritage Areas: theory, methods, and application.

Like many governmental actors in recent decades, the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) has operated increasingly through partnerships with other state and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community groups, and private sector corporations. Perhaps the most salient example of this trend toward partnerships is the rapid growth and development of national heritage areas (NHAs). Since the first NHA received congressional designation in 1984, NHAs have become an increasingly popular strategy for protecting and managing landscapes. To date, congressional designation has been granted to 49 NHAs, making them one of the fastest growing initiatives involving the NPS. Despite this growth, no prior research has examined the efficacy or effectiveness of the NHA model. This article introduces the NHA concept, while reviewing the literature on evaluation research and its application to protected area management. We then offer an NHA program theory model for evaluating NHAs. The model was developed using a theory-based, process evaluation approach, along with 90 qualitative interviews conducted at three study sites: Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, MA-RI (BLAC); Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, PA (DELE); and Cane River National Heritage Area, LA (CANE). We conclude by discussing the key challenges and implications associated with developing a long-term research agenda for evaluating NHAs.

When Do Normative Standards Matter Most? Understanding the Role of Norm Strength at Multiple National Park Settings

Research has demonstrated variation in the prevalence, importance, and stability of normative standards across different settings and activities. None of these studies, however, has directly used the concept of norm strength to help explain this variation. This study used norm strength to explore variation in normative standards at 52 locations in 13 U.S. national parks. The analysis measured and supported five dimensions of norm strength: intensity, consensus, certainty, preference consistency, and management consistency. No significant correlations were found between the five indicators indicating conceptually distinct dimensions of the norm strength concept. The findings support the notion that normative standards matter more at some places and the norm strength concept can help managers better understand these differences.

Re-envisioning community-based heritage tourism in the old city of Nazareth

This study specifically examines the potential for heritage tourism development to promote cross-cultural dialog in the historic old city of Nazareth (Israel). The paper focuses on a case study of a small-scale heritage tourism venture that seeks to influence tourism development in Nazareths old city. This is an exploratory case study that uses qualitative research methods including extensive participant observation and in-depth interviews with the ventures senior management group and selected employees. Study findings indicate a model of the relationship between community-based tourism development, heritage, and peace-building in a city that has experienced a wide range of cross-cultural conflicts. This model represents an alternative view to the notion that heritage serves to enhance differences and dissonance between different cultural groups. In contrast, findings from this study suggest that heritage in the form of tourism can help create shared interests between different communities in settings characterized by cross-cultural conflict.

Lessons Learned from U.S. Experience with Regional Landscape Governance: Implications for Conservation and Protected Areas

It is generally acknowledged that protected areas do not encompass the scale necessary for effective conservation of socio-ecological systems. Consequently, there have been repeated calls for a “new paradigm” for conservation that transitions from “islands” to “networks.” By extending conservation to reflect wider landscape perspectives, this approach integrates community development and economic and quality of life interests, thereby forging productive relationships between protected areas and their regional context. This broadened agenda involves many more landowners, organizations, and levels of government and requires coordination, partnerships, and new forms of governance. Drawing from nearly a decade of research, this contribution examines US experience with this new paradigm for conservation and models of network governance. The findings from this research program indicate that three key dimensions are fundamental to governance: engaging a diversity of stakeholders and building consensus, creating and sustaining ongoing networks of partners, and developing a central hub for the network. This central coordinating and facilitating function appears to be an essential governance element as it is the activity of these networks of private and public partners that deliver accomplishments. This contribution suggests that despite their challenges, networked-based models can strengthen social capital at regional levels, thereby increasing capacity for innovation, adaptation, and resiliency.

Utilizing Culture and Creativity for Sustainable Development: Reflections on the City of Östersund’s Membership in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network

Within the last few years, cities around the world have promoted creativity as a new resource for driving future development. As a result, a number of networks have emerged around this theme. The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) is one such network that attempts to use creativity as a mechanism to achieve sustainable growth and development. The network has grown rapidly since its inception in 2004 and now has 180 members worldwide, all of which have adopted the UCCN guidelines and directives. In this paper, the authors explore if and how cities use their membership to implement sustainable development goals. The paper uses the northern Swedish city of Ostersund as a case study, which has been an active member of the UCCN since 2010. Study findings indicate that membership in the UCCN has enabled Ostersund to advance sustainability discourse at a regional level, as well as improve practice in a limited sense. At the same time, findings also identify a number of challenges for integrating sustainability objectives into the UCCN.

The Influence of Social Entrepreneurship in Tourism on an Arab Village in Israel

This chapter explores how social entrepreneurship in tourism can convey societal benefits in an underserved Arab community in Israel. This analysis draws from three theoretical perspectives (i) social sustainability, (ii) theories associated with tourism, development, and economic empowerment, and (iii) the growing body of scholarship on tourism and peace-building efforts, and also includes an empirical case study situated in the Israeli village of Jisr-az Zarqa. The study focuses on the development of the village’s first commercial guest house, which is operated through a special Arab-Jewish partnership. This study employed qualitative research methods such as participant observation and in-depth, open-ended interviews. Findings revealed three categories associated with the influence of social entrepreneurship in tourism in Jisr az-Zarqa. The first category is largely descriptive and identifies the barriers to tourism development in the village. The second category analyzes the role of social entrepreneurship in tourism through the special Arab-Jewish business partnership that operates the guesthouse. The third category offers insights into the impacts associated with Jisr az-Zarq’s first commercial guesthouse.

New Challenges for Managing Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas: An Exploratory Study of the European Landscape Convention in Sweden

“Sustainable tourism” has emerged as the dominant paradigm for managing visitor use in protected areas. An important consequence of this approach is that management tends to focus on issues inside protected-area boundaries. Recently, broader landscape-oriented approaches have gained attention (e.g., the European Landscape Convention [ELC]). These strategies strive to achieve sustainable landscape protection and often identify tourism as a key development strategy. Using Sweden as an example, this article explores the intersection of the landscape concept—as articulated in the ELC—with the contemporary notion of sustainable tourism management in protected areas. This exploratory study was conducted using qualitative research methods. While study participants reported strong potential in landscape-oriented approaches, they also identified key challenges including “institutional negotiation and conflict” and “confusion and uncertainty about the landscape concept.” The article concludes by addressing the implications for enhancing sustainable tourism management through adoption of landscape-oriented approaches.

Basic and Applied Research: Application of Disciplinary Theory and Methods in the Field of Leisure Studies

Abstract Leisure studies is an applied field that draws on theory and methods developed in conventional academic disciplines. This paper illustrates the ways in which theory and methods developed in several academic disciplines (sociology, economics, computer science, and statistics) can be employed to help resolve an applied problem (carrying capacity of parks and related areas) in leisure studies. Application of disciplinary theory and methods to leisure studies raises several issues. These include the inherently interdisciplinary nature of leisure studies and the resulting need for applied academic units addressing leisure and related issues, adequate representation of all relevant academic disciplines, the most appropriate educational track for faculty/scholars in leisure studies, and the potential evolution of leisure studies from an applied field to an academic discipline.