Exploring time patterns in people's use of a metropolitan park district

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore how leisure behavior is organized in terms of temporal frames of reference. It is postulated that leisure occurs within the context of predictable timetables that are shaped by the general timetables of the social system, cyclical events, and the synchronization of individual time schedules. Results from a study of visitors to a metropolitan park district indicated significant associations between the characteristics of visitors and when they visited; the activities people engaged in were associated with the time of day, day of the week, and season of the year when they visited.

Keywords:

• leisure
• park visitation
• temporality
• time
• urban parks
• timetables