Leisure

Key Question: Explain the relationship between urban settlements and recreational and sports facilities in terms of frequency, size, range and catchment area.

Key terms Therefore, intra-urban means within an urban area.
 * Hierarchy:** Placing things in an order of importance.
 * Threshold population:** The minimum population required for a service to be offered.
 * Sphere of influence:** The area that people travel from to use a service.
 * Intra-urban:** Urban means a settlement of over 10,000 people, intra means within.
 * Rural-urban fringe:** The boundary between the urban area and the rural area.
 * TBD or RBD (Tourist or Recreational Business District):** The main centre of tourist activities and facilities within an urban area.
 * Functions:** The purposes or jobs of a settlement. As a settlement grows the size and importance of the tourism function will normally increase.

Normally the higher up the urban hierarchy a settlement is, the greater the variety (range) and number of leisure, sport and tourist activities and facilities. For example:
 * Leisure Hierarchy**: The leisure hierarchy has a strong correlation with settlement hierarchy. Settlement hierarchy is usually measured by three variables:
 * 1) Population size
 * 2) Range and number of services
 * 3) Sphere of influence

of about 50 || Coffee shop and bars Countryside and nature || Meal at coffee shop and pub Walking, Cycling, Horse riding Fishing Gardening || Swimming pools Community centres Cinema Some accommodation for travellers - Motel, B & B Bowling alley Garden / Parks Restaurants Shopping- high street Colleges and Libraries || <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Range of sports (cricket, footbal, rugby, etc.) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Classes and lessons for interest groups (language, photography, dancing) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Bingo <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Golf <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Walking, cycling <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Dining at restaurants <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Watching films and possibly amateur dramatics <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Shopping || <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Kuala Lumpur, <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Ho Chi Ming City || <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Usually over 1 million, <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">London is about 6.5 million || <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">All of the above and.... <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Range of accommodation (B&B to 5* hotel) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Theatres <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Museums and art galleries <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Olympic size swimming pools and <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">National sports stadium <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Concert venues <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Hosting International events <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Historic buildings (including government buildings e.g. Houses of Parliament) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Large shopping centres <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Theme parks / Zoos || <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">All of the above and..... <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Viewing top level sport e.g. the Barclay's Premiership <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Attending international sports events <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Visiting top class art galleries and museums. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Tours of historic sites <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Shopping (including specialist and designer) ||
 * SETTLEMENT TYPE || SETTLEMENT SIZE || TYPES OF RECREATION FACILITIES || TYPES OF RECREATION ACTIVITIES ||
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Hamlet || <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">5-6 buildings and families, population
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Large Town || <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">About 100,000 people || <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Sports pitches (football, rugby, cricket, etc.)
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.33px;">Capital City e.g. London,

Examine the distribution and location of recreational and sports facilities in urban areas and relate the patterns to accessibility, land value and the physical and socio-economic characteristics of each urban zone (from the CBD to the rural–urban fringe).


 * TBD:** Sometimes coincides with CBD but will contain historic buildings, museums, theatres, galleries, top end hotels and restaurants
 * Transition zone:** The old industrial area in MEDCs. Might contain cinemas, bowling alleys, shopping centres, sports centres.
 * Suburbs:** The residential area of the city may contains parks, libraries, sports centres, community centres
 * Rural-urban fringe:** The boundary between the urban and rural area may contain parks, hotels, shopping centres, golf courses, stadiums
 * Urban area:** The built up area, anywhere with a population of over 10,000 people is considered to bu urban.
 * Rural area:** Everywhere outside the urban area, the countryside. Rural areas may contain small settlements like villages and hamlets and leisure facilities like national parks, lakes, canopy tours, farms, country homes, etc.


 * Reasons for Changes in Recreational Provision in Urban Areas **
 * Space:** Some recreational activities take up a lot of space e.g. golf. It would not be possible to find enough space in the centre of the town to build a golf course.


 * Historical Location:** Historic buildings are normally found in the centre of urban areas. The reason main historic buildings e.g. castles and cathedrals were built at the same time the urban area was settled, so the urban area has grown around them.


 * Land value:** Some recreational facilities will not be able to afford to locate on higher value land. For example a local cricket pitch would not locate on expensive land because it does not generate any income. However, a five star hotel might locate on high value land because it generates lots of income.


 * Land Use of Surrounding Area:** Some recreational facilities will be attracted to certain locations. For example a hotel would normally be located in the TBD or on a good transport link, because this is what tourists demand. They would not locate in in the middle of a residential area, because demand would be less. Alternatively a library or sports centre is more likely to be located in a residential area, because this is where the demand will be.


 * Accessibility:** Some recreational facilities need a higher threshold population to be offered e.g. shopping centres, therefore they need to be in a location with a large population and are easily accessible. Facilities like new sports stadiums are also built near main roads or good public transport links.


 * Socio-economics Status:** Some recreational activities e.g. golf are expensive to participate in. Because of this some facilities will locate in areas of higher socio-economic status. Alternatively football is traditional a more working class sport so football clubs (recreational not professional) maybe located in more working class areas.


 * Physical Characteristics:** Some recreational activities are dependent on the physical environment e.g. potholing, fishing and skiing. Because of this you are not going to find some recreational facilities inside urban areas, but more in the rural-urban fringe or rural area. Areas that have outstanding natural beauty or great weather may also have above expected facilities e.g. the island of Menorca in the Mediterranean or Monteverde in Costa Rica.


 * Sports Events or Exhibitions:** Some cites areas may have above expected tourist or recreation facilities because they have recently hosted a major sports event, conference or exhibition. Qatar in the Middle East has a population of only 1 million but will host the football World Cup in 2022. After the World Cup many settlements in Qatar will have more tourist and recreation and facilities than you would expect for a settlement of their size.


 * Advertising and Recognition:** Some locations are very good at promoting themselves and attracting new customers and users and therefore have above expected facilities for their size e.g. the Bahamas, Dubai or Phuket in Thailand.

The diagram below was taken from an old IB exam. It is the kind of diagram you might see in an exam. It may look unusual but if you study it carefully it is quite simple. The diagram shows that there are not many country parks (National Parks), but they are bigger in size and have a bigger sphere of influence (catchments area). At the other extreme it shows there are many local parks, but they are smaller in size and are located closer to where people live and work (have a smaller sphere of influence).