Topic 2:

RECREATION PLANNING
(2 WEEKS)
Sub-topics
1. Hierarchy of park and recreation
2. Park requirement and facilities
3. Design guidelines for outdoor recreation
4. Factors to be considered in recreation planning

TPS254
RECREATION & LANDSCAPE PLANNING
What is Recreation planning
 Recreation planning is a rational systematic
decision-making process, to provide for city
residents sufficient open space and parkland
for uncongested leisure participation.
What is rational for recreational
planning?
 It results in decisions that are more effective,
efficient, fair, reasoned, and defensible.
 Rational in Planning
Feedback/ Comment
Recommendation
Goal & Objectives Create planning options
(Alt A/B/C & ….)
To provide city residents sufficient
open space and parkland

Goal &
Survey & Analyze Recommendations
Objectives

Effective
Efficient Problem solving:
Fair Yes / No
Reasoned
Defensible

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LECTURE OUTLINE

WEEK 2
1. Hierarchy of park
2. Park requirement and facilities
PURPOSE OF PLANNING HIERARCHY

 A hierarchy is an organizational structure in which items are ranked

according to levels of importance.

 Levels of importance refer to:

 Planning hierarchy (national, state, regional, local, community)
 Function
 Population size or catchment
 Acreage (hectare or acre, Sq feet)
HEIRARCHY OF PARKS AND
RECREATION
 Natural sanctuaries
 National parks
 State parks
 Regional parks and open spaces
 Metropolitan parks/ urban parks
 District parks/ Local parks
 Neighborhood parks
 Small local parks and open spaces (playing field and Playground)
 Linear open space

Baud-Bovy, M., and Lawson, F. (1998). Tourism and recreation handbook of planning and design. London, Architectural Press.
Llewelyn-Davies (2000). Urban design compendium. London, English Partnerships The Housing Corporation. 56
Natural santuaries
 Scientific reserves, or strict nature reserved, or total preserve
area etc.
 Are areas of total preservation with no access for visitors
except scientists.
 They are created on totally virgin, publicly-owned land or forest
 Essential objectives area the conservation of unique sites and
ecosystems, scientific research, protection of threatened
species.
 Natural sanctuary is often included in a national or even
regional park.
National parks
 To conserve the scenery and the natural historic objects and the
wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such
manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the
enjoyment of future generations.

 Including islands and marine parks, wildlife preserves etc. are vast
virgin or almost virgin, areas providing various interesting natural
features or ecosystems (vegetation, wildlife, lakes, rock formations
etc.

 No limits but the usual size of national parks is between 100 and
5000km2 (10,000 to 5,000,000 ha) 5km2 to 9000km2

Baud-Bovy, M., and Lawson, F. (1998). Tourism and recreation handbook of planning
and design. London, Architectural Press: 226.
 State parks
 State parks or provincial parks are parks or other protected areas
managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use
"state" or "province" as a political subdivision.

 State parks are typically established by a state to preserve of its

natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational potential.

 State parks are thus similar to national parks, but under state rather
than federal administration. Similarly, local government entities below
state level may maintain parks, e.g., regional parks or county parks.
In general, state parks are smaller than national parks
 Regional parks and open spaces
Main function
 (Linked metropolitan open land and green belt corridors)
 Weekend and occasional visits by car or public transport

Aprox. size and distance from home

 50 - 400 hectares
 3.2 – 8 km

Characteristics
 Large areas and corridors of natural heathland, downland, commons, woodlands and
parkland also including areas not publicly accessible but which contribute to the
overall environment amenity.
 Primarily providing for informal recreation with some non-intensive active recreation
uses. Car parking at key location
Llewelyn-Davies (2000). Urban design compendium. London, English Partnerships The
Housing Corporation. 56
Metropolitan parks/ urban parks
Main function
 Weekend and occasional visits by car or public transport
 Social; spaces for meeting and playing in contact with nature
 Structural; urban design and landscaping
 Ecological; regulation of the urban ecosystem by
 Improving climate; humidification, dust filtration, purification
 Lowering psychological perception of urban noise
 Attenuating climatic difference and slowing down winds
 Regulating rainwater and floods
 Maintaining vegetal and zoological diversity

Aprox. size and distance from home

 3.2 km or more where the park is appreciable larger
 JPBD: 10-25 hectares

Characteristics
 Either (i) natural heathland, downland, commons, woodlands etc.
 Or (ii) formal parks providing for both active and passive recreation may contain playing fields, but at
least 40 hectares for other pursuits. Adequate car parking

Llewelyn-Davies (2000). Urban design compendium. London, English Partnerships The Housing Corporation. 56
District parks/ Local parks
Main function
 Weekend and occasional visits by foot, cycle, car and short bus trips

Aprox. size and distance from home

 2 - 10 hectares
 1.2 km

Characteristics
 Landscape setting with a variety of natural features providing for a wide
range of activities, including outdoor sports facilities and playing fields,
children’s play for different age groups, and informal recreation
pursuits.
 Should provide some car parking.

Llewelyn-Davies (2000). Urban design compendium. London, English Partnerships The

Housing Corporation. 56
Neighborhood parks
Main function
 For pedestrian visitors

Aprox. size and distance from home

 1 - 4 hectares
 0.4 km

Characteristics
 Providing for court games, children’s play, sitting out areas, nature
conservation, landscaped environment;
 And playing fields if the parks are large enough.

Llewelyn-Davies (2000). Urban design compendium. London, English Partnerships The

Housing Corporation. 56
Small local parks and open spaces
Main function
 Pedestrian visit especially by old people and children
particularly valuable in high density areas

Aprox. size and distance from home

 Up to 2 hectares
 Up to 0.4 km

Characteristics
 Garden, sitting-out areas, children’s playground or other areas
of a specialist nature, including nature conservation areas

Llewelyn-Davies (2000). Urban design compendium. London, English Partnerships The

Housing Corporation. 56
Linear open space
Main function
 Pedestrian visits

Aprox. size and distance from home

 Variable wherever feasible

Characteristics
 Canal towpaths, paths, disused railways and other routes
which provide opportunities for informal recreation, and areas
that are not fully accessible to the public but contribute to the
enjoyment of the space
Llewelyn-Davies (2000). Urban design compendium. London, English Partnerships The
Housing Corporation. 56
 PARK REQUIREMENT AND
FACILITIES
Baud-Bovy, M., and Lawson, F. (1998). Tourism and recreation handbook of planning and design. London, Architectural Press. 135

1. Objectives, ways and means

2. Environmental integration
3. Contact with nature
4. Increasing value of the resources
5. Grouping of activities
6. Landscape
7. Distribution of buildings and focuses of interest
8. Separation of traffic
9. Quality of construction
PARK DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENT
1. Objectives, ways and means

 To meet individual requirements –

▪ Tranquility and rest – but also facilities for entertainment
and sport
▪ Anonymity – but also the opportunity to meet other people
and participate
▪ Contact with nature – but with standards of home comfort
▪ Seclusion and privacy – but with security and close to a
variety of leisure and recreational facilities
 To provide a different experience –
▪ Quietness - change of pace and opportunities for
relaxation
▪ Contact with nature – sun, sea, sand, forest and
mountain
▪ A human scale
▪ A change in activity – provided by sport and recreation
▪ Contact with other people outside – circles of work and
home
▪ Discovery of other cultures – ways of life
 To create an attractive ‘image’
▪ By making the best use of the particular resources and
peculiarlities of the site, surrounding and climate, using
local materials and techniques.
▪ By adapting development plan, scale and design of
buildings - reclect the character of main activities
2. Environmental integration
 May achieve through the architecture
 Where the environment is attractive with high scenic value, the
scale
 The personality of recreation area may be deliberately by
buildings of character

3. Contact with nature

 May be visual - such as panoramic view from somewhere
 Physical contact – small cluster construction may better solution
 Layout and design to make the most of the climate – hot climate
should be adjoined by deep vegetation.
4. Increasing value of the resources
 Arranged to take maximum advantage of the main natural
attractions
 By orientation of the building lines at right angles

5. Grouping of activities
 Segregation of the main recreational activities into isolated pockets
must be avoided
 Facilities must be assembled in a way allow some degree of
contact
 Avoid conflict between different interests (noisy activity and quiet
relaxation)
6. Landscape
 Natural features such as rocks, mature trees and running
water should be retained – even in the most densely
built-up areas
 Steep slopes and rock formation may incorporated by
constructing terraces, steps and etc.

7. Distribution of buildings and focuses of interest

 Uniform distribution of buildings over the whole area tend
to produce a large number of small often uninteresting
garden spaces
8. Separation of traffic
 Traffic control usually based on the separation of vehicles and
pedestrians
 Traffic may confined to the periphery or allowing pedestrian
access to the centre without the need to cross any traffic flow

9. Quality of construction
 (building codes and regulations). It may be adequate as a basis
for governing standards of quality –
 but often more specific planning requirements need to be
introduced toward distinctive character and image
BASIC STANDARD FACILITIES

1. Facilities classification
2. Categories of specific Facilities
Facilities classification

 Visitor facilities can be classified into two

types:

 Basic – common facilities to all types of resorts or

recreation, wherever they area located.
 Specific – identify with particular localities,
utilizing the resources of the site and surrounding
(seaside, mountain, hot spring, etc)
Basic facilities
 Providing for general visitor needs such as
accommodation, catering, entertainment, leisure and
relaxation.

 Types of accommodation – Hotels, Guesthouses and pensions,

Motels and lodges, Hostel accommodation, Condominium, Holiday
villages, Individual housing, Camping sites, caravan sites

 Categories of camps - Transit camps, Day camps, Weekend camps,

Residential camps, Holiday camps, Forest camps, Tourism camps

Baud-Bovy, M., and Lawson, F. (1998). Tourism and recreation handbook of planning
and design. London, Architectural Press. 17
Specific facilities

Categories of specific Facilities:

1. Land based sports facilities

2. Land based recreation facilities
3. Water based facilities
Examples - Land based sports facilities

 Sports grounds (Tennis courts),

 Built sports halls,
 Village hall and community recreation,
 Small sports centres,
 Medium and large sports centres,
 Leisure centres,
 Horse riding,
 golf courses,
 Standards for sports facilities
Examples - Land based recreation facilities
 Picnicking
 Picnic site beside a road or a highway. Designated large picnic areas with
internal road and graveled parking sites.
 Standard sites 15 – 40 units per ha (6 – 16 per acre) of 40 m₂.
 Maximum usage may reach 300 and even 500 persons per ha at peak times.
 Specific picnic sites should not be more than 100 m form car park areas.

 Parks, rest and playing fields

 Parks provide opportunities for people living in towns and cities to enjoy contact
with nature and relax in pleasant surroundings free from traffic.
 An urban park with large lawns can accommodate about 1(50 persons per ha)
at one time
 Walking and hiking trails
 Trails for short walks – generally allow alternative choice of time distance ranging
from half an hour to two hours (1-8 km)
 Trails for getting about – from one place to another. Provide pedestrian access
between destinations (schools, parks, sports grounds etc). Link associated
recreational areas.
 Trails for long distance hiking – may extend for hundreds of km

 Other types of trails

 Cycle touring, cross country, mountain bikes.
 Horse riding
 Motor cycle scrambling
 Trails of discovery
 Navigable waterways – canal available for cruising, sailing, canoeing.

 Allotment gardens
 Vegetable garden, mixed garden,
Examples - Water based facilities

 Natural bathing places

 May be provided in streams, ponds and lakes and may be associate with other compatible activities
like boating.
 Control of bacteriological, diving places and submerged hazards
 Regulation of use (including zoning) and densities.
 Restriction on building and unsightly development around the area
 Strict control over pollution from boats and shore based activities or from vegetation, algae,
mosquitoes, etc.

 Swimming pools
 Open air pools
 Indoor sports and leisure pools.

 Sailing and boating

 Pond and lake vary with the water area and the types of boats involved.

 Other water-based activities

Important aspects to consider in providing
recreational facilities

1. The numbers of potential users and the

areas of land required (carrying capacity:
person/sq2, units/area )
2. Investment costs
3. The apportionment of operating costs
LECTURE OUTLINE:

WEEK 3
• Design guidelines for outdoor recreation
• Factors to be considered in recreation planning
Design guidelines

1. Space allowances and reach ranges

2. Parking areas and loading zones on recreation
environments
3. Elements and spaces in the recreation environment
4. Access to primary elements and spaces (outdoor
recreation access routes)
5. Access to other recreation elements and spaces
(recreation trails)

Driskell, D. (1993). A design guide universal access to outdoor recreation. Berkeley,

California, PLAE. Inc.
Examples: Space allowances and reach
ranges
 Space allowances
 Basic spatial dimensions necessary to accommodate people
using wheelchairs and other
 General dimension, clear width, clear width at door and gate
openings, passing width, turning space, clear ground or floor
space
 Reach ranges
 Refer to the maximum and minimum height that a person in a
seated position can reach.
 Two types of reach range; 1) forward reach and 2) side reach
Examples: Parking areas and loading zones on
recreation environments
 Number of accessible parking spaces –
 Total space: 1-25 (1 accessible space)
 Location of accessible parking spaces –
 Must be located on the shortest accessible route to the recreation site or
activity
 Parking space design –
 Car accessible space, van and recreational vehicles (RV) accessible space,
 Vertical clearance
 Minimum vertical clearance of 98 inches (7 feet)
 Passenger loading zone
 Vehicle pull-up space at least 60 inches (5 feet)
 Bus parking and loading zone
 To minimize the need for people with disabilities
 Parking area surfacing
 Surface of parking areas must be stable, firm and slip-resistant
 Parking area slope
 Slopes of parking areas must not exceed 1:20 (5 percent)
 Signs
 All accessible parking spaces, van and RV accessible spaces,
Location and mounting height, Pavement markings, directional
signs, colors and materials
 Tactile warnings -
 If a pedestrian route crosses or adjoin a vehicular way and the
walking surface is not separated from the road by curbs, railings, or
similar elements.
 Method for providing a tactile warning is to cut grooves or roughen
the paved surface.
 Lighting –
 Should be installed in high use area in urban/rural settings
Examples: Elements and spaces in the recreation
environment
 Toilet rooms – Location and minimum number
 Telephones – Number of accessible telephones
 Trash receptacles – Number, location, height, operating mechanisms
 Drinking fountains - Location and number, spout height, spout location,
controls and operating mechanisms,
 Hand pumps and hydrants
 Benches
 Picnic tables
 Fire rings and grills
 Tent pads
 Terraces
 Assembly areas
 Boat launching ramps and boarding docks
 Swimming areas
 Fishing facilities
 Equestrian facilities
Examples: Access to primary elements and spaces
(outdoor recreation access routes)

 Identifying outdoor recreation access routes

 Number and location of outdoor recreation access
routes
 Alternative routes
 Design of outdoor recreation access routes
 Curb ramps
 Maximum grade
 Gates, doors and other entryways
 Stairs
 Guardrails, fences and other safety barriers
 Signs
Examples: Access to other recreation elements and
spaces (recreation trails)

 Identify recreation trails

 Number and location of accessible recreation
trails
 Design of accessible recreation trails
 Maximum grade
 Gates and entry points
 Signs
 FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED IN
RECREATIONAL PLANNING
1.Effective Use of entire Area
i. Every part of property should
have a function & contribute
to either its utility or beauty or
both.
ii.The maximum possibility for
the multiple use of area
should be realized where
desirable.

41
2.Location & Arrangement of Units
& Facilities
i. Major or primary features are
planned first.
ii.Minor or incidental features
receive secondary
consideration.

42
3. Adequate space for 4. Easy of supervision or
facilities operation
i. Assure safety & i. Some facilities request
satisfactory play, ample constant supervision,
space must be allowed other little.
for equipment, game ii.Location of the former
court & playing fields. where they can be
ii. In area used for supervised easily is a
picnicking & camping, design factor.
considerable space is
desirable for privacy.

43
5. Accessibility 6. Utilization & conservation
i. Easy of access to the of natural features
units is important and is i. A natural slope may be
facilitated by a system needed for outdoor
of roads or paths of theater or for winter
suitable location and sports, a grove of trees
width. for picnic area, a large
open space for athletic
field.

44
7. Safety 8. Economic in construction
i. Careful location & i. Through careful
arrangement of planning expensive
apparatus, game courts operation like grading &
& fields, roads & paths drainage may be below
contribute to safety. to a minimum, with
resultant lowering of
equipment & material
costs.
ii.However, use of cheap
material does not assure
economy.

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9. Economic in maintenance 10. Conveniences for people
i. Maintenance of cost using areas
often bear to i. A well planned area
construction cost; use of provides for the comfort
better materials may & conveniences of the
result in a considerable
saving in maintenance. users.
ii. Areas (exp: Green areas) ii.Provide with adequate
request much facilities such as toilets,
maintenance should be drinking fountains,
minimized unless parking, rest areas and
adequate means of etc.
maintenance.

46
11. Consideration of 12. Appearance
neighbours i. Every recreation area
i. The area should be should present a
designed to minimize pleasing appearance
annoyance to the from within & without,
neighbours. Adjoining even though little space
residential areas should can be made available
be for relatively quiet for planting. This is
activities. achieved through proper
architectural &
landscape design.

47
13. Other factors: • New form of leisure
 Changing attitude towards equipment technology.
recreation and leisure. • Advances in medicine.
 Changing population and • Growth of electronic
household composition. games, computers, and
 Changes in the workplace.
internet games.
 Changing housing pattern.
• Highly unstable political
 Depressed regional economies.
environments.
 Transport ownership.

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