Abstract
Rail trail developments involve converting disused railway corridors into multi-use spaces for leisure, tourism, and sustainable mobility. The transformation of disused railway corridors into successful rail trail developments in the United States, New Zealand and the United Kingdom has contributed to a resurgence in community, government and business interest in developing rail trails in other countries. As evident from several jurisdictions, rail trail development has the potential to spark debates around fundamental issues related to prudent use of dormant public assets, namely railway corridors. This exploratory systematic review examined peer-reviewed studies of rail trails published in English language academic journals to examine the substance, extent and research gaps of this distinct subset of the broader literature on trails. A fledgling, fragmented body of knowledge was identified, spanning themes from planning, management and user experience to social, economic and environmental impacts of rail trails. Directions for future research are provided.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 97-119 |
| Number of pages | 23 |
| Journal | Journal of Leisure Research |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 16 Apr 2020 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 16 Apr 2020 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by Southern Cross University. The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback and Jan Backhouse for her assistance with searching for and collating the literature underpinning this systematic review.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 National Recreation and Park Association.