Thesis Format
Integrated Article
Degree
Master of Science
Program
Geography and Environment
Supervisor
Long, Jed A.
Abstract
Understanding human-environment interactions in Canada's non-urban natural areas is essential for strategically managing ecosystem health and services. Volunteered geographic information (VGI) sources can provide researchers and management groups with valuable insights into human activity in these areas. In this thesis, I study how VGI sources can be used to estimate official visitation statistics in Canadian national parks and reveal fine-scale spatial and temporal outdoor activity patterns across Canada. I find that the VGI sources Flickr, AllTrails, and Strava can be used to model visitation in Canadian national parks, with the combination of AllTrails and Strava producing the best model. I also find that combining VGI sources with de-identified and aggregated network mobility data from TELUS reveals higher activity intensity in areas closer to large urban population centres, in summers, and on weekends. My thesis enhances our understanding of using VGI sources as a proxy for outdoor activity in Canada.
Summary for Lay Audience
Natural areas in Canada are important economically, culturally, and biologically. They provide tourism revenue, employment opportunities, house many species of endangered plants and animals, and are the foundation for recreational activities like hiking, biking, and camping. Understanding the interactions between people and the environment in these areas is critical in order to implement the best strategies to keep them healthy and productive. Due to the size of some natural areas and the large number of visitors that use them, it can be difficult and expensive to track visitation with current methods of monitoring like automatic counters and direct observation.
In this thesis, I collect data from the digital platforms Flickr, AllTrails, and Strava to understand visitation in Canadian natural areas. I demonstrate that data from each of these platforms can be used as a proxy for official visitation data in Canadian national parks. Between these three sources, I find that the combination of AllTrails and Strava data produces the best representation of visitation compared to any other combination.
Using the best parts of the AllTrails and Strava datasets combined with data from the telecommunications company TELUS, I produce an index that provides fine-scale information about human activity on individual trails in natural areas. This index shows that areas close to large urban population centres experience more human activity than areas further away, that summers are the most popular season for outdoor recreation activity, and that weekends are more popular than weekdays.
Using these data sources as proxies for visitation allows me to understand human activity patterns in natural areas without the need for on-the-ground observations. My research adds a Canadian context to a global body of work that studies the suitability of different proxy data sources for understanding visitation in different areas. Using these data sources and methods can be cost saving, provide valuable information about remote areas, and add a complementary tool to the toolbox of managers responsible for the health, well-being, and continued use of Canadian natural areas.
Recommended Citation
Ketchin, Matthew, "Understanding patterns of outdoor recreation in Canadian parks using volunteered geographic information and big data" (2024). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 10287.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/10287