Current Geographical Problems in Recreational Planning

The problem of human recreation has only relatively recently become the object of geographic research. The timeliness of work in this field arises from the growth of leisure as the level of material and cultural well-being rises in the USSR. Recreation is becoming an increasingly important sphere of human activity involving a variety of problems. The resolution of these problems requires research on environmental requirements of various forms of recreation, a typology of recreational systems, prediction of future needs for various kinds of recreation, rational management of recreational areas, and so forth. Of particular significance is the study of geographical conditions of recreation and the relationships between various forms of recreation and natural complexes of different types. A whole set of research problems is associated with the study of recreation as a branch of the Soviet economy, including the location and areal organization of recreational facilities. The new field of recreational geography is viewed as significant not only in the resolution of practical problems but also in stimulating the entire field of geographic research.