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• Urban nature similarly benefitted ethnically diverse green space visitors in the UK. • Visitors with distinct recreation preferences drew similar benefits from nature. • Relaxation was the primary benefit that visitors derived from urban nature. • The contrast to typical urban spaces added to relaxation in green spaces. • Publicizing the shared value of nature could foster intercultural understanding. Green spaces are vital to the wellbeing of urban communities, largely due to the many Cultural Ecosystem Benefits (CEB) that nature contributes to outdoor recreation experiences (e.g., relaxation, inspiration, spiritual enrichment). To ensure equity in the distribution of CEB, however, we require a better understanding of how they relate to ethnicity. Through 100 in-situ semi-structured interviews with green space users in the Lee Valley Regional Park, London, UK, this research explored variation in outdoor recreational CEB based on i) ethnicity and ii) green space activity and attribute preferences. We compared green space preferences and CEB of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) and white users of two distinct types of urban green space: parks and more biodiverse Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Both white and BAME visitors to parks prioritized games/sports and built features whereas visitors to SSSIs more often undertook wildlife viewing and prioritized natural features. However, we found that white and BAME users of both types of urban green space derived similar CEB. Peace and relaxation were primary among these benefits, a result of both nature interaction and its contrast to the urban environment. These results demonstrate that nature does not have to be the focal point of outdoor recreation to contribute to wellbeing; rather, even as a backdrop to sports and cultural activities, nature provides similar benefits to green space users. To promote use of green space and foster intercultural understanding, we recommend integrating these shared benefits obtained from nature within marketing and engagement strategies. Future research is needed to explore CEB variation within and among distinct ethnic communities to fully capture the diversity of lived experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research into education and student geographies has usually focussed on either compulsory schooling or university education. This paper, using London as a case study, is an innovative attempt to understand the geographies of non-compulsory, non-university education ('further education', FE) which plays a crucial role in a world city labour market that requires a wide range of skills. Original analysis is provided using findings from a questionnaire, interviews with students and senior college managers and the analysis of individual student records, the Individualised Student Record (ISR) and Pupil-Level School Census (PLASC). The education geography of 16-19 year olds in FE involves selection by institutions alongside choice by learners resulting in complex patterns of social segregation and travel to learn. The division between post 16 colleges and sixth forms attached to schools is crucial with the latter, wherever they are located, taking a less deprived section of the cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global cities, such as London, are viewed as distinctive in terms of their role in the increasingly globalized economy. There has been considerable academic debate over the nature of global city labour markets and how these can be explained in relation to global city functions. New empirical evidence is presented for the tourism labour market in London and the UK. The pay, conditions and social characteristics of tourism workers in London are examined, and they appear distinctive in terms of their full-time, gender (male), student, ethnicity and migrant characteristics. An explanation is developed that explores the interactions between the global city role of London and other scaled geographical processes that originate, especially at the national level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Talks about topics discussed during the annual conference of the Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers in London, England. Recent developments in tourism and leisure; Explanation concerning the term creative tourism; Views related to critical reappraisal of tourism and sustainability.

Using London as an example this paper demonstrates that the idea of tourism as ‘pleasure and recreation’ is wholly inadequate for an understanding of the published evidence on tourism in major cities. In the UK this results directly from the definition adopted by the main statistical sources such that tourists become travellers, irrespective of purpose, who stay overnight at their destination. In so doing the paper highlights two areas for future research, the growing trend in short-distance tourism and the increasing importance of visiting friends and relatives. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]