With reference to located, examine the problems associated with the increasing use of rural areas for recreation and tourism (25)
Rural areas are being used significantly more due to recreation and tourism due to counterurbanisation. This is affecting the social, economic and environmental factors of rural villages. Tourism changes businesses and creates more environmental problems such as pollution as well as causing house prices to rise tremendously. The influx of people from cities causes these problems. An example of this is West Oxfordshire where the house prices are high and the jobs are seasonal.
One of the main problems of tourism in rural areas is the parks in the town is becoming increasingly overcrowded, this causes many problems. The first effect is that the paths are all becoming eroded and this does not just cause cost issues but is also a management problem. All this erosion makes it hard for locals to access the park on bikes and horses as well as disabled people. There is also the problem that this attraction has made the average house price in the area significantly more therefore more houses are being built around the park. Although there are many negatives impacts to this park the Wytham woods owned by Oxford university controls its visitor access so there’s less pressure for development and less negative impact upon the environment.
Another negative impact of Recreation and Leisure in a rural community is the amount of tourism it brings in. An example of this is Shotover country park in West Oxfordshire. This park attracts more than 600,000 tourists a year into the area. Some of this land is owned by Oxford university however it is mainly controlled by Oxford city council. One of the main problems with this attraction is that most tourists arrive by car or bus. This causes congestion on the small country roads and makes it extremely difficult for locals to go about their everyday life. Also all the extra cars on the road means that the tarmac is getting eroded and damaged a lot more quickly making it expensive to maintain. The extra congestion on the road also brings in alot of air pollution as well as visual and sound pollution.
The Essay on Rural Area City One People
Your Land and My Land There are many differences in a city when compared to a rural setting. One of the largest differences deals with that of the visual surroundings. Cities are filled with buildings, streets traffic and people, while the country is filled with trees, mountains, streams and animals. With such commotion in this city-type setting, the natural environment is altered a great deal. ...
Although country parks, sports fields and golf courses are conserving the land it means that properties or developments cannot be built upon them. Golf courses keep the land natural with trees grass land and shrubbery providing a whole range of habitats and ecosystems but golf courses like the South Hinksey golf course in Rural Oxfordshire. However many golf courses waste vast amounts of water by watering the greens and this itself can destroy habitats. Golf courses also use a huge amount of pesticides and insecticides which furthermore pollute the habitats and kill insects living there. Also other activities like Stock – car racing and scrambling can erode ecosystems and create litter and pollution which creates visual pollution for the locals.
In Oxfordshire one of the main attraction is the Cotswolds nearby and the surrounding villages like Wooton and Woodstock. These villages contain small museums and lots of other recreational activities which are perfects for tourists from the city to enjoy. This means that during the seasonal summer months of the year these villages and towns are filled with Tourists and this can cause a huge variety of problems including congestion, air pollution, visual and sound pollution. This also aggravates locals as it means they struggle to do everyday processes such as going to the post office.
Another main problem is second home ownership. Many tourists come to Oxfordshire for its natural beauty and walks and activities and many of them decide to buy a second home. This is because they work most of the year in the large cities such as London and live for most of the year in the city and with their large income have gone and purchased a Second Home. The problem with second homes in Oxfordshire is they are only lived in for a few months of the year. An example of this is Wooton in West Oxfordshire. Over 40% of the houses there are second homes and this has had some serious effects on the village. Now most of the shops are tourist shops which do not have any use to the few locals that remain and in the months wear the village is not in season and the owners of the second homes are living away the village turns into a ghost town. Due to so many people buying second homes people can’t afford to live in the village anymore so locals are being forced to leave their own village leaving a very high older population. Also many young people are moving away because the shops and services are all closing because their are not enough people using them . Fortunately The oxfordshire town council has seen this as an issue and have started to build affordable housing within the area so that locals will be encouraged not to move away but to stay in the area. This will hopefully mean the population of young to old will be more balanced.
The Essay on Environmental Pollution 7
Environmental pollution is not a new fact. It is one of the biggest problems the world faces today. It is a big matter which is disturbing us economically, physically and our normal life. According to the Scott Forseman, pollution is defined as the addition of any substance of form of energy to the environment at a rate faster than the environment can accommodate it by dispersion, decomposition, ...
Although recreation and Leisure are causing so many problems such as pollution, ghost towns and loss of local businesses. Recreation and leisure can also bring in money for local businesses and therefore improve local economy. The damaging of habitats due to path erosion and over watered golf causes we can sustain the amount of damage so it doesn’t get any worse. We can do this by encouraging visitors to use public transport and not drive to their recreational activity and to stick to the paths. This will reduce the amount of air pollution and visual pollution. Also if we limit the amount of people buying second homes we will be able to balance the population so There will be enough locals to support the local shops. This way the towns employment and economy will not end up being seasonal.