hubacek - visitor perceptions
TRANSCRIPT
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Title:
Visitor perceptions of rural landscapes: A case study in the Peak District National
Park, England.
Authors and Affiliations:
Natalie Suckall, Evan D. G. Fraser, Thomas Cooper, Claire Quinn
Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of
Leeds.
Author for Correspondence:
Natalie Suckall
Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of
Leeds.
Leeds, UK
LS2 9JT
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0113 343 6466
Fax: 0113 343 6716
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Abstract:
Maintaining national parks is an integral policy tool to conserve rare habitats. However,
because national parks are funded by taxpayers, they must also serve the needs of the
general public. Increasingly, and thanks to todays diverse society, there is evidence that
this creates challenges for park managers who are pulled in two opposing directions: to
conserve nature on the one hand and to meet different visitor expectations on the other.
This tension was explored in the Peak District National Park, a rural landscape dominated
by heather moorland and sheep farming in Northern England where research was
conducted to determine how social class and ethnicity shaped perceptions of the park.
Results uncovered that social class played a very strong role in shaping perceptions of
this region with middle class respondents reacting far more favourably to the park than
people from more working class backgrounds. We observed ethnicity playing a similar
role, though our results are less significantly different.
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Key words:
Perceptions; social class; ethnicity; national park management.
Abbreviations:
PDNP Peak District National Park
MPA Marine Protected Area
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1. Introduction
The ever growing ecological footprint (Wackernagel and Ress, 1996) of urbanised
society has led to habitat destruction, fragmentation and the loss of biodiversity and
species (Millenium Ecosystem Assessment, 2003). In an effort to protect biodiversity,
national parks, where governments place large areas out of bounds from development, are
an important tool (United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation
Monitoring Centre, 2007), and can help maintain ecosystem services like flood
protection, carbon sequestration and recreational opportunity (Farber et al., 2002). It is
the responsibility of park managers to ensure that parks not only provide these services,
but do so in a way that meets the needs of local communities who, in the UK, live in and
around the park, and the nations taxpayers who contribute to the parks funding. This
can create conflict when competing needs and priorities emerge, including the needs and
priorities of those taxpayers who may not use the park, or see no value in it. Broadly
speaking, management activities to mitigate this conflict fall into three categories. The
first is regulation where activities within the park are carefully planned and monitored to
promote conservation regardless of the conflicts it provokes. Second is to allow the park
to evolve over time to reflect the changing needs of its users. Third is through education
where environmental programmes should lead to a greater understanding of and respect
for the area.
These three types of strategies relate to work by Ostrom (1990), who argues that when
conflicts between managers and local people arise, they are often a result of a
disconnection between park rules and local conditions. McNeely (1990) echoes this point,
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suggesting the long term protection of environmentally sensitive areas is threatened if
people living in and around protected areas are ignored. For example, Trakolis (2001)
describes how, during the establishment of the Prespes Lakes National Park in Greece, a
top down decision making process excluded the local community. As a result, conflicts
arose with local people resenting the imposition of the national park. Similarly, in their
study of Torre Guaceto,a Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Southern Italy, Petrosillo et
al.(2007) examined levels of visitor knowledge based on geographic proximity, showing
that a visitors awareness of being in a MPA was highly dependent on their place of
residence with the least aware visitors coming from neighbouring municipalities.
The literature suggests, therefore that local community participation is needed to identify
both the problems and the solutions in the face of conflicting needs in the worlds
national parks (For example, see: Sewell, 1973; Reed et al., 2006). However, as Xu et
al.(2006) point out, local people are not homogenous and do not share common norms.
Within a locality, a community bounded by geography may be made up of diverse groups
and individuals. Stringer et al. (2006) state that by encouraging diverse stakeholders to
work together, relationships can be transformed, enabling community members to
identify new ways of cooperation. Fraser et al.(2006) describe how the development of
sustainability indicators in Guernsey followed a participatory process to ensure diverse
community members had a role in managing their environment. After some initial apathy
within the local community, a relevant list of sustainability indicators was produced.
This provided a useful way of overcoming differences and forging consensus.
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It is, therefore, essential to understand how heterogeneity within a community can result
in a diverse range of attitudes and perceptions towards a national park, and how these
attitudes and perceptions can impact on long-term management. As a result, the goal of
this paper is to explore the tensions between current national park management and the
diverse needs of a heterogeneous public by exploring how people belonging to different
social classes1and ethnicities
2had different perceptions of nature. This paper focuses
specifically on visitor perceptions of the Peak District National Park, a rural landscape
dominated by heather moorlands and sheep farming in Northern England. We begin with
a literature review on the ways that class and ethnicity can shape perceptions of the
natural environment. Next, we present results from focus groups, questionnaires and
interviews on the Peak District National Park that were conducted with both children and
adults from different ethnic groups and social classes in Northern England.
1.1 Lifestyle divisions within a heterogeneous society
In order to understand who visits natural areas and why, it is essential to examine the
links between belonging to a particular social group and the choices an individual makes
in terms of cultural/leisure activities (e.g. Urry, 1990; Featherstone, 1991). For example,
Bourdieu (1986) argues that a persons lifestyle is comprised of preferences relating to
leisure, cultural consumption, and cultural tastes. These cultural preferences act as
initiators of identity (Warde, 1994; Lamont and Molnar, 2001). It is important to note,
1In this paper we follow the lifestyle approach of social structure analysis (see, Bourdieu, 1984, 1986;
Lamont, 1992) and as such we define social class as a group of people who share common values andattitudes, and have historically been bound by similarities in income2In this paper, the term ethnicity is used to describe a group of people with a common history, identity, and
culture based on geographical roots (see Bulmer, 1996). The term ethnic minority refers to a statisticalminority in terms of population.
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however, that a groups identity is based on more than the original defining features; for
example, in a group bound by class, economic wealth may not be the most important
feature. Instead, the group may be bound by a common set of values, attitudes and
behaviour. Similarly, in an economically developed Western nation, ethnicity is more of
a social construct than one based on geography (see Hirschfeld, 1996). As such, class
and ethnic divisions still remain firmly entrenched in economically developed societies
despite a broad base of economic prosperity and policies that try to promote racial
equality. Regarding social class, this was reflected in the British Social Attitudes Report
where 57% identified themselves as working class despite the fact that only 31% were
actually employed in blue collar positions (Park et al, 2007).
The idea that class is a function of something other than economics was explored in
Goldthorpe and Lockwoods (1963) seminal study of a British car factory. The authors
investigated differences in lifestyle between a group of working class labourers and a
group of middle class office workers. Despite the closing economic gap between the
groups, working class labourers continued to eat in the factory canteen, drink in public
houses, holiday in Spanish resorts, read tabloid newspapers, and their children left school
at sixteen. The middle class office workers ate their lunch at a serviced canteen, drank in
bars, holidayed in up-market resorts, read broadsheet newspapers, and encouraged their
children to continue education after sixteen. The conclusion of this study was that class
differences remained a central feature of British life regardless of changing economic
fortunes. A similar theme emerges in studies on ethnicity where a recent study explored
how African-Caribbean boys living in Britain adopt American hip-hop culture as a means
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to both transcend and confront their status in white British society (Lindridge et al.,
2005). Although all participants in this study had been born and raised in Britain, they
had developed a clear cultural identity that separated them from white British youths that
was expressed through consumables that were given a racial identity based on the hip-hop
artist publicising them.
1.2 How lifestyle and cultural preferences influence visits to the UKs National Parks
Within Britain (and many other economically developed Western nations) when visitors
to natural environments are examined in terms of social class and ethnicity, a common
pattern emerges. Visitors are overwhelmingly from affluent, middle class backgrounds
and nearly all are white (Breakell, 2002). This phenomenon has received increased
recognition over the last decade (see: Agyeman, 1995; Agyeman and Spooner, 1997;
Breakall, 2002; Pendergast, 2004) and traditionally, the absence of the working class (or
non-white ethnic groups) has been blamed on a lack of money, transport or leisure time
(Slee, 2002; Harrison, 1991). In an economically developed society, a simple lack of
funds, however, cannot explain the disproportionate number of white professionals
visiting national parks, and to fully explore the causes it is necessary to examine the
history, creation and meaning of Britains national parks.
In Britain, the countryside and rural way of life has always been viewed as an important
and unique part of the national identity and has been described as the 'essence of England'
(Agyeman and Spooner, 1997; Taylor, 1995). The English Countryside, therefore, is
not only a natural phenomenon, but is also a social creation loaded with images of middle
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class nature lovers on day trips to the country. This impression emerged quite strongly
during the nineteenth century, when, in the face of rapid industrialism, the Romantic
Movement appeared to offer an alternative to the gritty smoke stacks of the new
economy. Romantics abandoned principles of science and reason and stressed the power
of imagination, feeling and emotion. Disillusioned by the state of humanity in the cities,
Romantics focused attention on the aesthetics of the natural world and places that had
once been seen as valueless became picturesque and sublime. Solitude and escape from
the city were key and walking in the countryside became:
bound up with notions of individuality and self development, with a retreat
from the city and the urban self, and towards a freeing of the body, a rediscovery
of childish sensation, and aesthetic and moral regeneration. (Edensor, 2000:84).
In the world of visual arts and literature, images of the English countryside as a vast,
untamed wilderness emerged and the great poets of the day began to incorporate the
natural world into their writing. The Romantic poet Wordsworth described nature as a
presence that disturbs me with the joy; Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime.
(Wordsworth, 1798). However, the Romantics, who were almost exclusively from the
upper and middle classes, expressed grave concern of the potential impact of too many
people accessing the countryside. Writing about the Lake District, Wordsworth claimed
that the area should be national property for the enjoyment of persons of pure taste and
not for the humbler class of shopkeepers, artisans and labourers (in Blunden and Curry,
1990). The upper class Romantics, therefore, were keen to keep the landscape exclusive
to those who had the financial and cognitive resources to appreciate scenery, landscape,
image, [and] fresh air (Williams, 1972: 6).
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Many modern authors argue that this Romantic ethic has left its legacy in contemporary
society and Urry (1990) notes that middle class tourists still seek out the ideals of the
Romantic poets, describing such a tourist as having a Romantic gaze. In other words,
the romantic tourist seeks solitude, privacy and a personal and semi-spiritual
relationship with the object of the gaze (1990: 104). Urry contrasts the Romantic gaze,
which is most often associated with more affluent people, with the collective gaze,
which is far more associated with the working classes and is driven by a view of the
world that emphasises conviviality. The collective gazer seeks out other people [to]
give atmosphere or a sense of carnival to a place (Urry 1990: 45). By being with other
collective gazers the feeling that one is in the correct place is reinforced regardless of
the landscape itself.
In the case of ethnic minority groups in the UK, the situation is somewhat different. In
these cases it may be a lack of any strong sense of belonging that goes further than the
class-based exclusivity of Romanticism. It may be the case that the individual from an
ethnic minority seeks out a gaze similar to that of the collective gazer, in that the presence
of others seeking a similar gaze is important. In this way, the individuals original culture
is the most important variable for recreational choice. In other words, an individual is
likely to be influenced by their level of acculturation - the degree of assimilation into the
dominant culture. This hypothesis is developed by Berry (1980; 2003) who defines four
ways in which an ethnic group (or an individual belonging to an ethnic group) may locate
themselves in the dominant culture. These are 1) assimilation, where individuals from an
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ethnic minority seek out interaction with the dominant culture and place little value on
maintaining their original culture; 2) separation, where individuals hold onto their
original culture and avoid contact with the dominant culture; 3) integration, where
individuals retain their original culture whilst interacting with the dominant culture, and;
4) marginalization, where the individual is excluded from participation, for example,
through discrimination.
Floyd et al.(1993) contribute to this discussion through an examination of how Mexican-
American acculturation influenced outdoor recreation patterns. In their study, Floyd et al.
found that there was a significant difference in the use of designated recreation areas
between low acculturated Mexican-Americans and Anglo-Americans. Low
acculturated Mexican-Americans chose leisure activities that were closest to those
practiced by Mexican communities. The authors concluded that, after education,
acculturation and was the most important factor in choices for participation in outdoor
recreation.
1.3 Management in the UKs National Parks
In the UK, national parks are required to balance the recreational needs of the population
along with the need to conserve the nations cultural and natural heritage. This
requirement is reflected in Section 61 of the Environment Act, 1995, which sets out the
two statutory requirements of a national park as;
a) conserving and enhancing the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage; and
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b) promoting opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special
qualities of those areas by the public.
The fulfilment of the second requirement is particularly important since, as Rolston
(2002) puts it, there is a connection between beauty and duty; an individual who finds
an area beautiful is more likely to feel a sense of duty toward its protection. Where
management seeks to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural
heritage of an area, maintaining the aesthetic status quo becomes paramount. This often
means that a park will be kept the way it was when it was established, regardless of any
changes in how society perceives beauty. The UKs national parks, for example, were
generally placed in regions that affluent, university-educated white people deemed
important in the middle of the twentieth century. In terms of their aesthetics, therefore,
the UKs parks were designed by people who had been schooled in the Romantic idea of
wilderness and solitude.
However, the provision of recreational opportunity is among the most important of the
ecosystem services that the UKs national parks perform. Indeed, management will often
sacrifice other ecosystem services in favour of recreational opportunity. For example,
Lee (1995) describes how, within the Lake District National Park (another of Englands
Northern Parks), the National Trust restored Yew Tree Tarn (a small lake) after an
underground fault caused the water to drain away. As Lee points out, the effort to ensure
the tarn remained aesthetically desirable required a perversion of the course of nature
in order to serve our human purposes and ends (1995:221-2). It could be argued,
therefore, that the UKs national parks are often managed to preserve tranquillity and
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naturalness even if this results in a contrived landscape. Within this model, there is
little space for a dynamic and evolving environment, especially if there is the potential
that the resulting change may be seen as less aesthetically desirable by the people who
visit the region. Perhaps then, the absence of certain visitor groups is the result of a silent
conflict between land managers and visitors. In other words, it may be the case that
managers are maintaining a landscape aesthetic in line with what was considered
beautiful at a specific point in history regardless of todays views. The people who do
not go to the park may share a different idea of beauty from the Romantic ideas of
tranquillity and wilderness.
1.4 Management in the Peak District National Park
The Peak District National Park (PDNP) is an upland area located in central northern
England. It is an example of northern European ecosystem management, which focuses
on conserving early or mid-successional, semi-natural communities (Marrs et al., in
press). In the case of the PDNP, the dominant vegetation is heather moorland that is
conserved in its building phase (Dodgshon and Olsson, 2006) and if left unmanaged,
rapidly develops into birch forest. To prevent this, managers burn the heather regularly
(Thirgood et al., 2000), or use sheep to graze the young plants (Holden et al.,2007).
The heather moorlands of the PDNP are sustained primarily for their recreational
opportunity including grouse shooting and walking. In the PDNP, grouse shooting
provides an important source of income for many private landowners and those involved
in the tourism industry (Hudson, 1995). As grouse make their home in relatively young
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heather, the conservation of heather moorland is fundamental in ensuring the continuation
of hunting in the uplands and the continuation of hunting income. As a result, heather
moorlands have become synonymous with the feel of the park and although this is an
unnatural landscape, in that it must be carefully managed, three quarters of visitors cite
the landscape and the associated naturalness, peace, and tranquillity as their primary
reason for visiting (Moors for the Future, 2004).
2. Methods
In an effort to empirically assess reasons why working class and ethnic minority groups
are under represented as visitors within the PDNP, two separate studies were conducted;
one focusing on social class and the other on ethnicity. The research methodology
followed a multi-method approach, in which qualitative and quantitative methods were
triangulated. This work builds on on-going participatory research (e.g. Dougill et al.,
2006) and other stakeholder led activities in the PDNP.
2.1 Study area
The participants of both studies were from Sheffield, a city in the north of England where
half of the population lives within 15 minutes of the PDNP (see figure 1). Sheffield has
typically been viewed as a working class city, however there is a large middle class
population residing mainly in the western suburbs. Although Sheffield is predominantly
white British, over the 1990s the ethnic minority population of Sheffield has grown by
80% to 45,000 individuals (Office of National Statistics, 2001).
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2.2 Sampling
To assess social class, this study focused on 83 Key Stage 3 (aged 11-14) school children.
Children were selected for this study for two reasons: (1) they tend to reflect the
prevailing norms from their home environment and (2) they may carry their opinions and
views through to adulthood, thus shaping the future issues that may confront park
managers. The pupils in this study were from two very different schools, chosen to
reflect the class diversity within Sheffield. Just over half of the children came from
Waltheof School (n=44), which is situated to the east of the inner-city in a typically
working class area. The remaining children came from Tapton School (n=39), which is
situated in the affluent, middle class western suburbs of Sheffield. Both schools are
predominantly white in terms of ethnicity. The latest Office for Standards in Education
(OFSTED) report showed 76% of pupils at Waltheof School were white (OFSTED,
2001). Similarly the 2007 OFSTED report for Tapton School states that the majority of
students are White British, with a quarter of the students coming from a variety of Black
and minority ethnic backgrounds.
To assess the perceptions of black and ethnic minorities, this study focused on 40
members of Sheffields ethnic minority community. The 40 participants belonged to one
of two groups of 20 people each. The first group had worked with the Sheffield Wildlife
Trust as part of an environmental outreach programme designed to increase ethnic
minority participation in the countryside. The second was an ethnic minority social
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group who had no organised contact with the environment. The goal here was to
understand the perceptions of the natural environment held by Sheffields ethnic minority
population, and to assess the impact that an environmental outreach programme had on
these groups.
2.3 Data collection
To elicit opinions on the natural environment, this research used four sets of photographs
each of which represented a different type of environmental recreation space. The first
was of the Peak District moors (representing wilderness), an urban park (semi-natural), a
botanical garden (staged natural), and a shopping mall (built and unnatural). These
specific images were chosen based on Schivelbuschs observation that for the twentieth
century tourist, the world has become one large department store of countrysides and
cities (1986: 197). In the post-modern world, the natural and the unnatural sit
together to form a pastiche of choices for leisure and recreation.
These photographs were used in a number of different ways. First, to determine how the
children perceived the moors, a mixed methods approach was used where all respondents
(n=83) were given a four-paged questionnaire that elicited responses based on the
photographs. Each set of photographs was accompanied by a series of five-point Likert
scale questions designed to gauge the respondents opinions, perceptions or preconceived
notions of the space in question. The statements concerned the following issues:
1. a sense of belonging
2. a perception of the space as dull (or not dull)
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3. a perception of the space as scary (or not scary)
4. a sense of personal safety
5. a desire to visit the area
6. a perceived sense that accessing the space will be easy
7. a feeling that the space could be a fun place to visit
The respondents rated each statement by selecting one of the following options; (1)
strongly agree; (2) agree; (3) not sure; (4) disagree and (5) strongly disagree. The scale
score was obtained by summing the responses to each item, taking into account scale
reversals for negative items.
Second, to further explore the childrens perceptions, individual and informal interviews
were carried out in a relaxed setting (n = 15). In this context, each pupil was presented
with the four sets of pictures used in the questionnaires, each of which had been mounted
on card and laid out on a table. A central question, How do you feel about these four
places and why? was established and 6 follow up questions were asked in order to
generate a discussion:
1. If you could go to any of these places tomorrow, which place would you choose
to go to?
2. Why is this place your favourite place?
3. What activities would you do at this place?
4. Which place would you least like to go?
5. Why would you least like to go to this place?
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6. What activities would you do at this place?
The respondent was then asked three questions about each of the two remaining sets of
photographs, which had not been chosen as the best or worst place. They were;
1. What do you especially like about this place?
2. What do you dislike about this place?
3. What activities would you do at this place?
With specific regard to the moors the respondents were asked;
1. If you wanted to go to this place, how would you get there?
To assess the perceptions of the two ethnic minority groups, a similar questionnaire to the
one from the schools study was used. In addition, research used a focus group
methodology with the two predominately black community groups. These focus groups
had three stages all of which were facilitated by the researcher. Firstly, in an open
discussion, participants were asked to talk about their awareness and perceptions of the
PDNP. Secondly, participants were asked to order the pictures used in the questionnaire,
in terms of feelings of beauty, safety, isolation and solitude. Thirdly, and with the help of
an Ordinance Survey map, participants were asked to design their ideal PDNP, in terms
of the facilities available.
Quantitative results were analysed using SPSS. A Kruskal-Wallis One-Way Analysis of
Variance test was performed to establish the significance of the differences between the
two groups in each case study. A Mann-Whitney U test was performed to analyse the
significance of the variations of perceptions between the groups. Qualitative results were
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based on transcriptions from interviews and focus groups and analysed using a Grounded
Theory approach. Grounded Theory is a method designed to help researchers collect and
analyse data in order to develop theoretical models that help explain social phenomena.
To do this, transcripts were made of all proceedings and analyzed through a coding
process that added key words to specific quotes. These key words then became the basis
for the analysis (see: Corbin and Strauss, 1990; Glaser and Strauss, 1967).
These two studies (the first with children of different classes and the second with two
ethnic minority groups with different exposure to the environment) were conducted
independently of each other and were used as distinct and separate pieces of research. No
attempt was made to compare results between the study on class with the results on ethnic
background. The reason for this was to triangulate how the background (however
defined) of a potential park visitor might shape their perceptions of the park. In this, we
hope to provide an empirical base through which to explore how policy and park-land
management might need to shift to actively reflect the diverse needs and perceptions of
all potential visitors.
3. Results
3.1 Background to respondents.
The two schools showed considerable differences in terms of social class. To evaluate
social class, students were asked about their parents occupations. Using the Office for
National Statistics (2000) Standard Occupational Classification, numerical values were
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given to occupations where 10 = the highest social position and 1 = the lowest social
position. With a mean social class of 5.8 between the schools, children at Waltheof
School had below average scores (mean score for Waltheof = 3.8) and the children at
Tapton School were above average (mean score for Tapton= 8.1) (see table 1).
In the focus groups, the majority of respondents were of Black/Black British ethnicity
(see table 2). Within these groups, ethnicities were largely stated as Caribbean or African.
Other ethnicities were fewer in number and mixed race respondents were evenly spread.
The difference in ethnic origin between the two groups is statistically insignificant (p >
0.5).
3.2 Access to Park
Questionnaires revealed that students from the higher social class school (Tapton) had
visited the moors, the botanical garden and the urban park more than the children at
Waltheof School (p
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compared to 92% of children at Tapton. The fact that in both groups the car is cited as the
main form of transport suggests that it is simplistic to assume that working class children
are not taken to the countryside due to lack of access. In addition, the Waltheof pupils
appear to have more experience of using public transport than the Tapton pupils,
suggesting that it is not a lack of experience of using public transport that is preventing
them going to the park.
Perceptions of how easy access would be also differed by school. When asked how
would you get to the moors? the children from Tapton were able to provide detailed
answers. For example, one boy, aged 13, from Tapton said Id go up the snake pass a
long and windy road through Glossop while a 14-year old girl from Tapton suggested,
Id go up the road outside my house and Id get the bus into the moors and then it stops
at a bit thats good for walking and stuff. In general, the children at Waltheof provided
much less detail when asked how they would access the moors. However, all children
stated that their parents would willingly take them to the moors if they asked them. A 13-
year old girl from Waltheof said, My Granddad likes places like that [the moors]. I
could go with him if I wantedbut I wouldnt want to go while a 12-year old girl from
Waltheof said, Yeahsomeone would take me in the car if I wanted to go.
In the ethnic minority focus groups, thirteen respondents from the environmentally
oriented group had been to the moors in the previous year as compared to only five
respondents from the non-environmental group (p
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did own cars). Therefore, it seems that there is more than a simple access barrier that
prevents these groups from visiting the park.
3.3 Perceptions of place
78.5% of the children from the working class school rated the photograph of the moors as
their least preferred place to visit. This opinion was expressed by only 50% of the
children at the middle class school (p
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opportunities offered by the park. Those children actively sought out peace, tranquillity
and solitude. As one pupil at the middle class school said [at the moors] you get to do
what you want. Its peaceful and quiet and its good to go to think about something. By
contrast, the opinions of the pupils at the working class school revealed that they wanted
something else from a possible moorland experience. One pupil commented, its nice
viewsit looks tranquil. Thats good if youre into all that but I like it noisy. There
were no statistically significant differences between the two schools when asked about
the other places. The botanical garden, park, and mall were all viewed in roughly the
same way by all respondents. Figure 2 illustrates Likert mean scores for each of the four
groups of photographs averaged across all seven questions.
In the ethnicity study, overall, the group involved in the outreach project had a more
positive perception of all the places than the control group. The only exception was for
perceptions of the mall where the difference was not significant (p
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environmental group suggest a general lack of awareness about the region: Ive never
been because I dont know where it is and I do not know how to get there.
During the focus groups, the environmental group expressed a high degree of happiness
with the recreational opportunity offered by the PDNP and cited countryside recreation as
a favourite activity. Typical comments included [The facilities] cater for a wide range of
tastes with a wide range of activities. On the other hand, the non-environmental group
was largely dissatisfied with the activities on offer. A general perception was that the
PDNP is lacking in childrens facilities and the introduction of playgrounds at suitable
sites seemed a popular idea. Farm-based activities were also a popular idea amongst this
group.
4. Discussion
Overall, the results from this study support the theory that belonging to a particular group
(either class or ethnicity based) influences the decision to access natural places. The
results also suggest that something more than just a lack of means creates barriers that
prevent some groups from deriving the same enjoyment from the landscape as others.
However, the results show that groups who previously have had no historic connection
with a specific type of landscape, such as new immigrants to the UK, may change their
opinions.
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These empirical findings are broadly consistent with large scale studies conducted in
association with the PDNP where three quarters of visitors cite the landscape and the
associated peace and tranquillity as the primary reason for visiting (Moors for the Future,
2004). By contrast, non-visitors say there is no particular reason for their absence or
that they are simply not interested (National Centre for Social Research, 1998). Taken
together, these studies and the results presented here, could suggest that non-visitors may
simply not desire to experience the peace and tranquillity of the moors. Or, perhaps it
could indicate that for those who choose not to visit, the moors do not inspire this peace
and tranquillity. Therefore, it may be the case that when looking at the moors, the
children from Waltheof School are gazing at something different from the children at
Tapton School and similarly, the ethnic minority group with no experience of the moors
is gazing at something different from the group with experience.
To use these results to better manage landscapes, we need to develop a more
sophisticated understanding of place in a multi-cultural, cosmopolitan, and
economically diverse country. For example, Johnston (1991) argues that all places are
social creations and that different places differ because people have made them do so. It
could, therefore, be argued that those who visit the moors do so because they are part of
this act of social creation. They are part of the self-reproduction of the moors as a
landscape in which people learn to nurture a particular set of beliefs and attitudes with
regard to a type of environment. In this way, the moors transmit an ideology and identity,
replicating white, middle class attitudes on what is beautiful and natural. If this is true,
and the evidence presented here suggests it is, then it is easy to see how groups who do
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not share a Romantic attitude towards aesthetics and nature may be excluded, even if it is
apparently through a personal choice.
The most apparent contrast with a Romantic landscape in the locale of Sheffield is a
shopping mall, which is an ideal place to observe a more collective approach to leisure.
A shopping mall is more than just a place where material goods can be consumed and
Fox (2005) states, for many people shopping malls nurture the soul and the society,
not just the body and economy. Bauman (1998:26) talks of the impact consumerism has
had on less affluent members of society, where the road to self-identity, to a place in
society, to life lived in a form recognisable as that of meaningful living, all require daily
visits to the market place one needs to be a consumer first, before one can think of
becoming anything in particular. Identities are created in the mall and, like the moors,
the mall can act as an ideology transmitter. Unlike the moors, however, with the
Romantic emphasis on solitary reflection, the mall helps transform the ideology of
consumerism into a definition of beauty through a form of collective identity. Certainly,
most of the children at both schools are consumers of this mass identity and all appeared
to feel an affinity toward the mall. However, the children at Tapton School appreciated
that the mall was only one experience open to them and their desire to consume was
offset by their desire to experience other places. As one pupil at Tapton said Yeah, I
could have a good time [at the mall]. Its inside so its good for a bad day... If it was a
nice day Id do something outside though.
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As Lidridge et al.s (2005) study of hip-hop culture in Afro-Caribbean groups shows,
consumerism has also done well at incorporating certain ethnic groups. In the ethnicity
study, the mall scored highly for both groups. In particular, the group with no history of
participation in the moors scored the mall as their favourite place and the moors as their
least favourite.
Walking for reflective purposes, which is an activity the Romantics took very seriously,
did not appeal to the Waltheof children. They appeared to crave a more active and
collective activity that could be enjoyed as a group. Many of the children at Waltheof
School (and none of those at Tapton School) expressed a desire to chase the sheep. The
desire to chase sheep is perhaps symbolic of a desire to be involved in a collective and
fun pursuit. Similarly, none of the respondents in the non-environmental ethnic
minority focus group thought the moors offered them facilities or experiences they would
enjoy. There appeared to be no correlation between enjoyment of the moors and
enjoyment of the botanical gardens, adding strength to the notion that for those who enjoy
the moors, the area is about more than flora and fauna.
5. Conclusion
As Stendhal eloquently stated beauty is nothing other than the promise of happiness.
(1822 [1975]:66). For those who find beauty in the Peak District moors, they are buying
into the promise of a lifestyle that will bring them joy. For those who see the moors as a
barren wasteland, there is no hint that being part of this landscape will add anything of
value to their lives. However irrelevant this may seem, it remains the case that many of
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those who see no value in the PDNP have some influence over the parks future.
Therefore, their view of the park as valueless could be seen as a threat to those who want
to maintain the landscapes of Britains cultural past, and it is undoubtedly the
responsibility of the parks management to solve this problem.
If it is the case that the current management of the PDNP results in the exclusion of
certain groups (as the results from this paper suggests it is), then it is up to management
to explore alternative approaches. An exploration of the three management strategies
noted in the introduction to this paper (education, regulation and legislation) may be a
good starting point for developing an alternative approach to park management.
However these strategies are not without issue. Firstly, implicit in the idea that attitudes
can be changed through education is the assumption that there is only one way that the
moors should be enjoyed through the eyes of the Romantics. The idea of changing the
gaze of a whole section of society is laden with value judgements. Secondly, whilst
deregulation of the park may attract a more diverse range of visitor, it may also create
discontent among the Romantics. As Walter (1982) points out romanticism exalts
solitude, and for those Romantics this is the only way they know to enjoy nature.
Thirdly, legislation may serve to conserve the park, but this may be at the expense of
those who enjoy roaming freely and undermine both conservation and local peoples
needs.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the generous support of Moors for the Future and
the Rural Economy and Land Use Programme for funding this work. The Moors for the
Future Partnership is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund(http://www.moorsforthefuture.org) and the Rural Economy and Land Use Programme is
funded jointly by the Economic and Social Research Council, the Biotechnology and
Biological Sciences Research Council and the Natural Environment Research Council,with additional funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
and the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department. Specifically, the
authors are funded through the Rural Economy and Land Use project RES-224-25-0088and ES/E017479/1. The views expressed here do not necressarly reflect those of the
funding bodies. Thanks also go to Jessica Robinson for helping with interviews, the staff
and students at Waltheof and Tapton schools and the members of the focus groups.
Thanks also go to Dr. Andrew Dougill and Dr. Joseph Murphy, at the University ofLeeds, and three anonymous reviewers for thoughtful comments on earlier drafts of this
paper.
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