Impact of attendees’ motivation and past experience on their attitudes toward the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington,D.C

Motivation and past experience have been frequently examined in the literature. However, most studies have examined the two concepts separately in a destination loyalty model, and few have made analyses at three levels: univariate or multivariate analysis, structural equation model (SEM) analysis, and SEM multi-group analysis. This study examined the two concepts at the three levels in the context of a cherry blossom festival, based on data collected from 950 visitors. Results indicate that repeaters were more motivated by the blossoms and more positive in their cognitive, affective, and behavioural attitudes toward the festival than were first timers. However, first timers exhibited a stronger relationship between motivation and cognition and between cognition and loyalty than repeaters. It seemed that cognition played a central role in the loyalty model, thus, it is necessary to place priority on increasing the public’s knowledge/awareness about the festival. Theoretical, methodological, and managerial implications are discussed.     

The effect of exposure to nature on children’s psychological well-being: A systematic review of the literature

Over the last few decades, children have spent significantly less time actively engaged in nature-based outdoor activities compared to previous generations. This has corresponded with them increasingly suffering from a range of psychological problems. Studies have been undertaken to explore the notion that such problems can be mitigated to some extent through exposure to nature within the context of built environmental settings. While much of the literature in this area has focused on adult populations, this article provides a comprehensive review of recent studies addressing this topic targeting children aged 6–12 years old. From an initial search of the literature, a total of 1036 records were identified from which 40 studies addressing this topic were identified and analyzed. Our results show that most of these studies employed cross-sectional rather than longitudinal designs, and most identified positive psychological outcomes associated with children’s exposure to nature, with many yielding statistically significant yet weak to moderate outcomes. We further categorized studies into experimental or observational according to the research design. Observational studies primarily investigated the impact of the accessibility/quantity of natural environments within residential settings. Some experimental-based studies explored children’s active involvement in nature-based activities. In contrast, others investigated passive exposure to nature through views or visual stimuli used as surrogates of actual environments, many of which were conducted in school and public open-space settings. Most of the studies explored terrestrial, or green spaces, within the context of predominately built environments, with water-based settings (blue spaces) being underrepresented. Some differences in research focus and design were evident across different countries where the studies were undertaken. We conclude that further research is needed to unveil the associations between nature exposure and children’s psychological well-being to provide directions for future environmental design strategies, environmental education and policymaking.     

A review of the concept ‘management’ in relation to urban landscapes and green spaces: Toward a holistic understanding

The management of urban landscapes concerns existing urban open spaces such as public parks, playgrounds and residential green spaces. It involves many different actors and organizations and its practice is of importance for the sustainable development of cities. As a research field, it needs further theoretical development and common definitions. For example, the central term ‘management’ is seldom defined in the relevant literature regarding an urban landscape context, and public participation in management processes is unusual. This paper introduces urban landscape management as an overarching concept that brings together knowledge about management of urban landscapes from fields such as urban forestry, park management and landscape planning. Based on a literature review, a common understanding of management in an urban landscape context is proposed, including organizational and strategic aspects of managerial activities. Our approach is that urban landscapes are ultimately managed to provide user benefits. Urban landscape management can be viewed as a complex process that includes a number of different actors, elements and relationships, mutually affecting each other. This view supports future studies of urban landscape management and its role in sustainable urban development.     

A review of the outcomes from contracting out urban green space maintenance: What we know,don’t know and should know

Private delivery, i.e. contracting out, of maintenance services in urban parks and green spaces has since the 1980s been spurred by neoliberal reform promises of improved performance. This article contributes to discussions of whether contracting out park and green space maintenance services is a well-performing alternative by evaluating what is known – and not known – about the outcomes in a narrative review of thirteen studies bridging experiences from four decades and three country contexts. It is found that the balance of reported economic and managerial outcomes mostly are on the positive side while the balance of reported outcomes related to service quality and staff are found to be on the negative side. Findings indicate that reforms have partly delivered on their promises. However, the reviewed studies are found to be dominated by evaluations based on governing values inherent in neoliberal management reforms rather than alternative management paradigms, rely on older data from a limited number of country contexts, and lack an accumulated understanding of explanation of outcomes. Finally, the reviewed studies pay little or no attention to the details of the development of different contracting and organizational models within contemporary urban green space management. Future research can expand further on what is known by addressing these key caveats.