Managing Leisure 

About: Managing Leisure is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Recreation & Sport management. It has an ISSN identifier of 1360-6719. Over the lifetime, 385 publications have been published receiving 9525 citations.

Measuring the accessibility and equity of public parks: a case study using GIS

Abstract: Geographic information systems (GIS) can provide leisure service agencies with numerous opportunities to enhance the planning and management of their facilities. This paper demonstrates one such application, to the measurement of levels of accessibility and distributional equity offered by a system of public parks. The methods proposed are relatively simple; nevertheless, they do offer substantial improvements upon those previously utilized by leisure service providers. They facilitate identification of poorly served areas and populations, and suggest where new facilities might best be sited so as to maximize access and equity. These methods are illustrated by a case study of the park system in Bryan, Texas. Many other applications of GIS to leisure service provision are available, several of which are briefly discussed. Together, they could enable agencies to function more effectively and, ultimately, to provide better levels of service to the public.

Creating community networks: Can sporting events offer meaningful sources of social capital?

Abstract: Hosting sporting events has emerged as a means for cities to reposition themselves in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. Despite the widespread use of sporting events in urban development, the degree to which the local community fits into the plans of a city's pro-growth agenda has been questioned. None the less, events may provide opportunities for community development. Thus, this paper explores the potential that the hosting of sporting events has for the creation of community networks. Following an overview of sporting events and a discussion of forms of capital, we suggest that the construct of social capital might offer an important theoretical paradigm for understanding how sporting events can be used to build community networks and facilitate improved social relations.

The economic importance of major sports events: a case-study of six events

Abstract: This paper reports the results of an economic impact assessment of six major sports events held in the UK in 1997. Major sports events are now regarded by many cities as a significant part of their tourism strategy. However, staging a major sports event normally involves the host city making a contribution to the costs. Whether such a contribution is justified depends on the economic benefits generated in the local economy. The results reported in this paper indicate the wide variability in such benefits as well as the difficulty sometimes encountered in predicting what these benefits will be prior to the staging of the event. An attempt is made to develop a typology of major sports events in terms of their potential to generate significant economic impact.

Measuring customer service quality in sports and leisure centres

Abstract: Based on the notion that quality management embraces efficiency and effectiveness, the Centre for Environmental and Recreation Management (CERM) has developed prototypes for performance indicators of efficiency and effectiveness that can be applied to sports and leisure centre management. Effectiveness indicators based on the principles of customer service quality (CSQ) measure customers' expectations compared to their perceptions of the centre's actual performance. The CERM has focused on leisure industry sectors, particularly public sports and leisure centres. This paper reports on the dimensions of customer satisfaction and the application of the CERMCSQ questionnaire to leisure centre management. Data are throughout Australia that trialed the CERMCSQ questionnaire during 1994. Conclusions are drawn from this data that indicate a four-dimension model may be appropriate for Australian sports and leisure centres. This model differs from an earlier one which proposed five CSQ dimensions based on applied r...

The impact of parks on property values: empirical evidence from the past two decades in the United States

Abstract: The notion that parks have a positive impact on proximate property values was recognized in the debates surrounding the pioneering of large urban parks in England in the first half of the nineteenth century, and subsequently in the spread of this movement to the US in the latter half of that century. The empirical basis for these early assertions was rudimentary and naive. This paper reviews contemporary research using the more advanced analytical procedures now available to social scientists that has examined this issue. The findings confirm the initial rationale and suggest that a positive impact of 20% on property values abutting or fronting a passive park is a reasonable starting point guideline for estimating such a park's impact.