NS34 Session 21

HOME       About the conference       Program       Sessions       Abstract submission

Practical information       Organisation & committees       PhD Seminar

Title: Human–Nature Relationships within Leisure Contexts

Organisers: Marianna Strzelecka, Arash AkhshikSolène Prince and Marleen Schwarze

Affiliation: Linnaeus University

Description

Outdoor leisure has long been a central arena in which relationships between humans and nature take shape and evolve. In Nordic contexts, outdoor leisure in natural environments is closely tied to shared cultural ideas about landscape, public access, and sustainability. Through leisure practices, people encounter and interpret nature in ways that influence how it is valued and cared for. In this sense, leisure becomes a setting where environmental meanings, attitudes, and even behaviors are formed. Yet human–nature relationships are being reshaped by ongoing social and environmental transformations, including climate change, energy transitions, urbanization, visitor mobilities, and the growing influence of digital technologies in everyday life. As many of the environments used for everyday leisure also function as spaces for tourism, understanding leisure–nature interactions in these spaces can offer insights relevant to ongoing discussions on making tourism an agent for good.
This thematic track invites critical contributions that explore human–nature relationships within leisure contexts. We welcome work that examines how leisure practices shape the ways in which nature is perceived, experienced, represented, and governed, and what this can mean for designing good tourism Contributions may focus on activities taking place in rural, urban, or coastal settings.
Possible topics include (but are not limited to):

• Human–nature relationships in everyday leisure practices
• Leisure in informal, overlooked, or marginal spaces, such as urban edges, brownfields, and informal green areas
• Questions of biodiversity, conservation, and environmental conflict that arise through leisure
• Emotional, affective, and sensory experiences that shape how nature is encountered through outdoor leisure
• Leisure that takes place in natural, semi-natural, or informally used green spaces
• The role of digital technologies (apps, social media, virtual environments, and tracking tools) in shaping experiences of nature in leisure and tourism
• Governance and spatial planning of leisure in natural environments