Recreational benefits of residual open space: A case study of four communities in northeastern New Jersey

Numerous undeveloped and ecologically diverse tracts of land within urban communities in the United States are presently being utilized for a variety of unsupervised recreational activities. The present use and perceived value of residual open spaces adjacent to the Palisades to residents of four communities in northeastern New Jersey was assessed. The results of our survey suggest that parks and open space represent a city service that is not as highly valued as other more visible services, that respondents desire a diversity of recreational experiences, that existing parks and open space provide a narrow range of recreational benefits to users, that benefits of existing parks extend primarily to the provision of active pursuits, and that undeveloped residual open spaces are valued for and provide opportunities for a variety of passive pursuits.Residual open spaces are a resource that contributes towards meeting the aesthetic and recreational needs of city residents. Failure by planners and decision-makers to recognize the value and utility of such tracts of land may result in their destruction and in the loss of a resource which provides a range of recreational opportunities that is not adequately provided by formal parks and open spaces.Paper of the Journal Series, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Cook College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey.This work was performed as a part of NJAES Project No. 17501, Urban Forestry: Planning and Management of Residual Open Space, supported by the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station and by a grant from the Consortium for Environmental Forestry Studies sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeast Forest Experiment Station.     

General and public opinion about the general speed limits in Finland in 1973–1974

This article analyzes the general opinion (of the population) and the public opinion (of the press) about the general speed limits in Finland during the speed limit experiment of 1973–1976, as well as background and changes of opinions. The results showed: (1) The public opinion on speed limits has been more negative than the general opinion. (2) Negative attitudes toward speed limits are connected to at least three side issues — right-wing ideology, motoring as sport, and speed limits as a threat to one's own traffic behavior. (3) The significant decrease in traffic accidents during the speed limit experiment acted as a pressure of facts that rapidly increased the number of supporters of speed limits. (4) Comparison with other studies showed no great differences in support of speed limits among the countries of Europe. In West Germany, however, the public opinion about speed limits was more negative than in Finland.