Research Design Connections
Studies uncover snowmobilers’ attitudes, assisted-living residents’ preferences, biodiverse golf courses, and trails with varied plants.

By Jean Marie Cackowski and Sally Augustin

Illustration by William Brown

Landscape Architecture, in partnership with the web-based newsletter Research Design Connections, will continue to use this column (the previous example appeared in the October 2005 issue) to report current research of interest to landscape architects from a wide array of other fields.

We welcome your comments, suggestions about future topics, and studies you have encountered in your own practice.

Snowmobilers Say They Value Nature

By interviewing snowmobilers and other recreational visitors in Yellowstone National Park, two researchers examined the "popular image of snowmobiles as thrill craft and snowmobilers as thrill seekers" who break the silence of winter parks with their noisy, fume-spewing vehicles. The study builds on the limited existing research about the recreational experiences of snowmobilers and on the ecological, social, and economic implications of snowmobiling in Yellowstone National Park in particular.