Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design

Department

Recreation, Parks and Tourism Resources

Committee Chair

Jinyang Deng

Committee Member

Chad Pierskalla

Committee Member

Coy James Belknap

Abstract

Abstract

Outdoor Recreation Benefits in Urban Areas: An Importance-Performance Analysis of Residents’ Perception in Morgantown, West Virginia

Zachary Cox

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, participation in outdoor recreation has surged in primitive, rural, and even urban settings. Similarly, outdoor recreation studies that focus on residents have continually grown post-COVID-19. Through shared activities and a sense of community, residents have a strong voice in the decisions and improvements of their local environmental spaces. The purpose of this study is to assess the benefits of outdoor recreation among residents in the city of Morgantown, West Virginia. To identify these benefits and perceptions, researchers performed an importance-performance analysis (IPA) on the outdoor recreation opportunities in the area. A total of 300 residents participated in a survey providing details about their perceptions of the local outdoor recreation opportunities. The survey was developed using West Virginia University’s Qualtrics™ surveying software and responses were collected for approximately one month. This survey consisted of five sections: recreation preferences, importance-performance of Morgantown Adventure Outfitters, perceived benefits, importance-performance of outdoor recreation in Morgantown, and demographics. Descriptive analysis was used to describe respondents’ sociodemographic characteristics and outdoor recreation preferences. Popular outdoor recreation activities included biking, running, hiking, and walking along the Caperton Rail Trail and Deckers Creek Rail Trail. Factor analysis reduced all benefit items into two factors, personal and social. Data-centered importance-performance analysis revealed attributes such as accessibility, cleanliness, and lack of debris and obstructions were areas of focus among residents and outdoor recreation users. Further analyses included a K-means cluster analysis to segment residents based on their perceived benefits and I-P ratings. Respondents were clustered into two categories based on the higher mean scores of each factor, holistic and personal. Two separate individual I-P graphs, one for the holistic group and one for the personal group were created to compare results. The findings from this study can contribute to the understanding of residents' perspectives on outdoor recreation. With this information managers and administrators can obtain better decision-making processes related to resource allocation and development, and potentially guide improvements in outdoor recreation offerings to better meet the needs and expectations of the local community. Research implications and future research needs are also discussed.

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