Building Communities Through Leisure

Citizen Participation in a Healthy Communities Initiative

Bibliographic Data

ID10138293
AuthorsSusan Arai (University of Waterloo, corresponding author), Susan M Arai (University of Waterloo), Alison Pedlar (University of Waterloo), Alison M Pedlar (University of Waterloo)
Year1997
Volume29
Issue2
Pages167-182
Publication date1997-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Leisure Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-2216 • E-ISSN: 2159-6417
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00222216.1997.11949792
OpenAlexW14410073
LanguageEN
Citations received28
References cited16

This paper reports on an in-depth qualitative study of the experience of citizen participation as a leisure pursuit. Participants were involved with a Healthy Communities initiative. Findings indicated citizen participation lead to benefits associated with serious leisure and community building. Five themes reflected benefits citizens identified from their involvement with healthy communities; these were (a) learning and developing new skills, (b) becoming more vocal, (c) balance and renewal, (d) group accomplishment and ability to influence change, and (e) development of community. Participants involved in the visioning process felt greater overall benefit from their participation than those who had not been part of the original visioning exercise. Findings suggest significant implications related to self-determined directions for citizen participation and the rejuvenation of community through leisure.KEYWORDS: Healthy communitiescitizen participationserious leisurecommunity building

Community participation · Political science · Public relations · Qualitative research · Social science · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Community Health and Development · Health Policy Implementation Science · Mental Health and Patient Involvement · Psychology

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