Special issue on being outdoors part 2: being in the urban outdoors

Traditionally, outdoor recreation has been characterised as taking place in remote, rural and sometimes distant and exotic settings, that are somehow separate, and separated from normal places of work and residence (Pigram and Jenkins 2006). Recreation in such settings has been premised on an assumed desire to ‘escape’ from the urban and the mundane aspects of everyday life to nature-based settings defined by beauty and tranquillity (Williams 1995). This characterization has set up a duality between the rural and urban, a position we believe is unhelpful as scholars try to understand the contemporary experience of outdoor recreation in a changing world. A defining aspect of our changing world is rapid urbanization. Kundu and Pandey (2020) indicate that the global urban population has ballooned from 0.75 billion in 1950–4.22 billion in 2018. By the mid-twenty-first century, it is estimated that 68% of the world’s population will live in urban settings. These figures point to the increasing importance of urban, suburban and peri-urban settings (the fringe in-between the urban and the rural) for recreation in the outdoors – expanding and challenging the accepted norm that outdoor recreation is only meaningful in rural, remote and faraway lands. Furthermore, the wider call for increased ‘locavism’, a call to partake in activities closer to home in a carbon conscious (Hollenhorst et al., 2014) and COVID-19 afflicted era, underscores the need for scholars to explore how urbanites experience recreation in their own backyards.

There are some obvious benefits to embracing outdoor recreation in urban settings. Bringing the ‘outdoors to the people’ has been a key driver behind the global ‘conservation in the city’ movement (Parris et al. 2018). This shift in thinking recognizes the decline in back-country outdoor recreation, where fewer people are visiting National Parks and other protected lands and waters, and instead proffers meaningful conservation experiences in the nooks and crannies within the city boundary (McDonald 2012). There is ample evidence to suggest that having nature inside cities, reduces stress and obesity, and improves well-being for urban dwellers (White et al. 2020; Bell et al. 2018; Foley and Kistemann 2015; Pigram and Jenkins 2006). Furthermore, new populations that have traditionally been excluded from outdoor recreation, often regarded as the realm of the highly-educated, well-off and of mainly Caucasian descent, are now encouraged to explore their backyard, on their terms. This recognizes that the ‘backyard’ is a term that is best viewed as being without limits, enabling it to encompass both the near and far, the easily and not so easily accessed. There is also hope that exposure to nature among our increasingly urban society might help build a new constituency for conservation (McDonald 2012). This requires a reimagining of the concept of ‘nature’ beyond the unspoilt wilderness and bucolic environment traditionally associated with outdoor recreation. Doing so can lead to the inclusion of myriad blue and green spaces in urban spaces alongside traditional definitions of nature.

Against this backdrop, Part II of this special issue on outdoor leisure aims to illuminate the often hidden experiences of leisure in the urban outdoors. As mentioned in the introduction to the first part of the special issue (Baker, Stewart, and Carr forthcoming), the decision to focus on outdoor leisure as opposed to outdoor recreation reflects the need to shift away from the preconceived notions long associated with the latter. For more discussion on the reasoning behind this decision, please refer to Baker, et al (forthcoming) and Carr, Baker, and Stewart (2021). As noted above, this is required when critically thinking about what we mean by and therefore what we need to look at through a leisure or recreation lens when thinking about the outdoors.

The first three papers in this part of the outdoor leisure special issue draw attention to understanding groups hitherto not considered to be traditional participants of outdoor recreation. Dina Izenstark explores what ‘being outdoors’ means to Latinx families in the USA. Engagement in family-based nature activities was seen to provide opportunities to strengthen relationships and transmit family and cultural values. Participants suggested focusing on improving existing outdoor spaces, implementing more family-based community events, and creating educational campaigns to increase family participation in outdoor activities. Crucially, the outdoor leisure Dina’s participants talked about have more in common with the urban than the wilderness environments long associated with outdoor recreation. Similarly, Kristine Aquino and her colleagues explore informal leisure interactions amongst migrant and ethnically diverse urban populations using a case study of temporary migrant workers in Singapore. They suggest that despite constraints experienced by marginalized migrants, informal sport and leisure practices in outdoor spaces generate a sense of urban belonging. In doing so, they highlight the importance of outdoor leisure, albeit one that at a visual level is very different to the wilderness landscapes idealized in outdoor recreation literature, to personal wellbeing. In addition, Froukje Smits and Annelies Knoppers provide an account of a sport development project in the Netherlands which followed adolescent girls from disadvantaged urban communities as they participated in longboarding, which can be described as a form of skateboarding. They conclude that such projects open up new possibilities for shaping sport practices amongst disadvantaged urban youth and talk to the potential of ownership of and access to the urban outdoors for leisure and wellbeing.

The remaining three papers in this part of the special issue grapple with the urban environment and how despite its complexities (mobilities, multi-faceted diversity, income disparities, and poverty) that urban areas are an increasingly important setting for leisure in the outdoors. Fabio Bertoni uses an intriguing ethnographic case study of slacklining in Padua and other cities in the Northeast of Italy to help unpack the contested city/nature dualism and gives new meaning to escapism in the urban context. Ivor Heijnen and his colleagues remind us of the importance of peri-urban settings for outdoor education and recreation practice. They talk about how the sense of place of such locations on the urban fringe, in this case in the Port Hills in Christchurch, New Zealand, can manifest among practitioners and their students. The authors also provide a useful insight into the merits of the walking interview as a way to capture the experiences and reflections of research participants. Finally, Teresa Hill illustrates how representations of ‘public’ outdoor leisure spaces in the city of Niagara, Canada impact the lived experiences of those people experiencing poverty and homelessness.

The stark reality of the global Covid-19 pandemic has shone a critical light on the relationship between leisure and urban outdoor settings (Rice et al. 2020). Stay-at-home orders and the experience of restricted mobility during lockdowns has forced many urban dwellers to reconnect with their local environment and explore the recreational opportunities that exist in their own backyards rather than continuing to valorize wilderness and rural areas. There have been multiple accounts of urbanites feeling a new sense of appreciation for their local neighbourhoods (e.g. Manaaki Whenua: Landcare Research 2020; Espiner et al. 2021). As Mackenzie and Goodnow (2020, 66) so eloquently describe: “The secret, understated local spots we never had the time or energy to notice are suddenly of immense value. Small trails or green spaces we never made time to explore, because we were imagining or engaging in ‘grander’ adventures, are now center-stage in our minds”. If nothing else, the global pandemic has illustrated that participating in outdoor leisure activities close to home can be much more rewarding than we ever thought. The papers in this part of the special issue provide important insights into ‘being’ in the urban outdoors and the leisure values that can be realized here. This part of the special issue also draws attention to the contested and diverse nature of outdoor leisure experiences in the urban environment, expanding on the existing work that has been done on the politics of identity and place in the outdoors (e.g. Byrne and Wolch 2009; Stokowski 2002; Williams 2002). We encourage scholars to build on the work presented in this part of the special issue and persist with endeavours to understand leisure and recreation in a rapidly changing and urbanized world. Regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic there is clearly potential for significant positive change regarding engagement with newly identified outdoor leisure opportunities. The challenge for us all is to ensure this potential is not lost in a reversion to the old norm when we transition to a post-pandemic world, either at global or more local levels.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Emma Stewart

Emma Stewart is a Human Geographer and an Associate Professor in Parks, Recreation and Tourism at Lincoln University, New Zealand, where she is co-Head of the Department of Tourism, Sport and Society. She is also a Research Associate with the Arctic Institute of North America, Canada. Her research interests focus on the implications of environmental change for outdoor recreation, nature-based tourism and parks and protected areas.

Neil Carr

Neil Carr is a Professor in the Department of Tourism, University of Otago. His research focuses on understanding behaviour within tourism and leisure experiences; with a particular emphasis on children and families, sex and animals (especially dogs). The brains behind the wonky façade of Neil belong to Sarah and Ebony (and before her Gypsy and Snuffie).

Mandi Baker

Mandi Baker is a Research Fellow and lecturer at Torrens University, Australia. Her research interests include the emotional work, interpersonal skills, and power-relations of people-centric service employment. She explores these concepts in organised outdoor experiences, youth & community development, recreation and leisure contexts. Her work explores everyday work experiences through sociological concepts to offer fresh insights to ethical and sustainable leadership and education.