“The Parks Are Being Loved To Death” and Other Frauds and Deceits in Recreation Management

Abstract

Many common concepts in recreation and leisure research originate from the “interests” of four groups: users, legislators, managing agencies, and researchers. These interests, and their ties to social class, make frequently discussed concepts like overuse, business-like management for public agencies, benefits/values, and sustainability ontologically suspect. A functionalist approach is advocated as an alternative. Researchers need to be aware of the “political” context of research concepts to avoid pitfalls in their application.

KEYWORDS:

• Interests
• epistemology
• recreation policy