Outdoor recreation

With the rapidly changing world coupled with changes in tastes and lifestyles among Urban residents, there is need to diversify the range of outdoor recreation opportunities in Urban areas. This is with specific reference to Nairobi city, which has a vast resource of forested areas such as Karura Forest, Ngong Road Forest, City Park and the Nairobi Arboretum. This study therefore sought to establish the preference of Nairobi residents on the use of urban forested areas as outdoor recreation sites, as well as identifying the opportunities existing within the forests for outdoor recreation. Survey research design was used to gather information on urban residents preferences on the use of forested areas for outdoor recreation. Factors under investigation were facilities within the forested areas as independent variables and urban residents preferences as dependent variables. A sample size of 200 residents was drawn from the study area by use of random probability sampling method. Data was collected by use of five point Likert Scale questionnaire and closed ended questions, which was administered to residents within the study area (on-site).