Changes in recreational behaviors of outdoor enthusiasts during the COVID-19 pandemic: analysis across urban and rural communities

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic presents not only a global health crisis but has also disrupted the daily lives of people around the world. From a leisure perspective, urban outdoor enthusiasts are one group particularly impacted by the pandemic and the subsequent institutional response. Stay-at-home orders and physical distancing recommendations serve as potential inhibitors to outdoor recreation activities central to the lifestyles and wellbeing of outdoor enthusiasts. In urban areas, where these orders and recommendations are most restrictive, the potential impacts on recreation behavior are most consequential. This study provides an empirical analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the recreational behaviors of outdoor enthusiasts across urban and rural communities. Results suggest that the frequency of outdoor recreation participation, distance travelled to participate in outdoor recreation and distance travelled beyond roads during outdoor recreation have declined significantly more among outdoor enthusiasts residing in urban areas than urban clusters or rural areas.

COVID-19 and human-nature relationships: Vermonters’ activities in nature and associated nonmaterial values during the pandemic

“…During the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.A., many people's relationships with nature changed [2,4]. As government restrictions and individual responses limited mobility and social relations, people interacted with nature differently-sometimes more, sometimes less, and sometimes in new ways.…”

“…Within these shifts, we observed multiple patterns based on people's backgrounds. These observations matter because human-nature relationships support individual and community well-being [9], which is especially vulnerable during disasters like COVID-19 [4,49]. Research demonstrates that exposure to natural environments supports recovery from stress [50][51][52] and suggests that these relationships may provide a source of resilience for both individuals and communities experiencing disasters [10].…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has, in a few months, changed our planet's social-ecological systems in substantial ways [1]. Stay-at-home orders, dramatic shifts in work and social schedules, and restrictions on the use of public spaces intertwine to modify when, where, and how people interact with the world (particularly the non-human world) around them [2][3][4].…”

“…With populations worldwide facing increased vulnerability to disasters [8,9], we need to look more closely at how nature's values and benefits respond to and possibly help mitigate crises like the COVID-19 pandemic (hereafter, "COVID-19") [10,11]. While a rapidly emerging body of research reveals increased activity in nature in response to the pandemic, [4,12,13], less attention appears directed towards the underlying values and benefits associated with this increased activity. Such knowledge could broaden our understanding of the complexity of, and potential for change within, human-nature interactions and values, as well as help improve disaster planning and management [14].…”

COVID-19 and Climate Change: A Tale of Two Global Problems

“…A second lesson that can be drawn from another observation seems to be that a sudden and sharp change in behavior (and mindset) is possible, driven by new social norms like wearing a mask or keeping social distance. The COVID-19 pandemic may have long lasting consequences in the way we work, where we live, and how we spend our leisure time [36,37].…”