"...following both the broad changes within the post-industrial economic regime and the pluralistic ideology of post-modern societies, tourism has gradually advanced from the highly organized forms of mass tourism characterizing the post-war period towards alternative—fragmented and flexible—forms of tourism reflecting new modernity, individualization and diversity."  [http://trendwatching.com/img/briefing/2010-05/t.1.status.png]

Today the Blue Ridge Parkway faces a myriad of challenges as well as the promise of revitalization. The sheer volume of traffic on the Parkway is both a gift and a challenge.  In 2008, an estimated 16 million people traveled along the 469 mile length of the park. North Carolina is the 6th most visited state in the country.  Tourists generated some $2.3 billion dollars for the region and for the immediate and surrounding localities. They were part of the some 45 million visitors who came to the state of North Carolina. This $2.3 billion is only a portion of the some $15 billion generated by travel and tourism from the whole state of North Carolina.  While the current economic downturn has somewhat reduced the numbers, the general up-tick in revenues was averaging around 8% for the state.  It is estimated that if travel and tourism did not contribute the annual tax revenue from visitors to the state, each of us would have to pay out over $300 each to make up the difference. 

While the revenue stream is large and essential, the push on the environment, on Parkway resources, and on the scenic capital of the Parkway, is annually challenged by the numbers of people who use the Parkway in one manner or another.  Some of the most challenging issues are those surrounding the use of the Parkway "aura." Regional population growth and the very complex cultural change that accompanies the expansion of population has greatly expanded the numbers of homes that abut or are near the Parkway.  Of the many issues associated with population growth, the most difficult to chart is that of cultural change. Yet, in many ways, it is the most provocative of the challenges for the Parkway. 

"Escape to the North Carolina High Country," "Find the Mountain Aire," "Mountain Country," "High Country," and more, all suggest the value of the higher elevations.  "Convenient to shopping and the Blue Ridge Parkway..."some of the developments seek to offer city living with an escape to the country. Urban sprawl, or urban "creep", or

In an article by Aspa Gospondini, "Urban Design, Urban Space Morphology, Urban Tourism: An Emerging New Paradigm Concerning Their Relationship," [European Planning Studies, Vol. 9, No. 7, 2001, ] the author explores ideas regarding regional planning and urban tourism.  The observations while centered on urban tourism are astute and have importance for the future of the Blue Ridge Parkway and other large parks, both rural and urban. 

Gospondini observes that the cultural context for tourism has changed. Mobility has accelerated, aesthetic appreciation is much more subjective and individualized, and the former social disciplines such as customs, behavioral codes, and ideologies are all over the individualized map. The time-space compression of everything has put severe pressures on traditional tourist practice. At the Parkway level, the countryside that flowed past the windshield of the tourist family on the Parkway in the 40's, 50's and 60's  no longer serves to sustain the interest of the average touring public. In automobiles filled with distractions, and with few interactive park experiences, except gift shops and some heritage sites to break the journey,  younger families are beginning to find other sources of engagement.  Getting out of the city is, for some,  not nearly so exciting as staying in the city, especially cities with new and  revitalized urban spaces that provide stimulation and more opportunity to mix and mingle.

A recent study of the accelerated growth in western North Carolina shows that our growth rate jumped some 568% from 1976 to 2006.

  "...and development in the North Carolina mountains increased 568 percent from 1976 to 2006. Meanwhile, population increased 42 percent during the same period. The result is an increase in the average number of developed acres per person from 0.06 acres in 1976 to 0.30 acres in 2006."

To see the full report, go to http://unca.edu/features/changing-landscape.

The prospect of metropolitan areas vying with our National Parks for attention is not a picture we are prepared to resolve easily. The most reasonable response would be to run toward partnerships that make the most of both landscapes, urban and rural.

 PARK USE

Many studies of contemporary tourist behavior show that today's tourist more frequently aims for anti-structures; those experiences that are not familiar, but that challenge and stimulate and provide the maximum opportunity to make multiple unplanned choices with regard to recreation. It would seem that the parkway could extend this participative process along the parkway, particularly through the varieties of scenic stop-over sites and the many hiking trails. Yet, while the numbers on the trails has gone up, the volume is still not there and increasing the volume would require more staffing, more up-keep, and more regulation.  Success often has a price-tag.

Regulation is a growing concern.  Many tourists are fearful of getting "off the beaten trail." It is largely an unfounded concern.  While the crime statistics in parks across the country are amazingly low, the perception is that large parks are dangerous places to go, especially alone. The general tourist does not stray far from the automobile and many still see forests as dark and dangerous places to walk and recreate. It is likely that obesity will kill our park users before mayhem.  

Another unfortunate perception is that shared by many women who perceive that their safety is threatened in large parks.  This perception has been a persistent deterrent for women wishing to travel alone and to hike unaccompanied in national parks though an increasing number are doing so. The statistics related to park safety suggests that walking alone carries some risk, but no more than can be found in our larger urban areas. Women's perception of self is often the greatest deterrent to the full use of our national parks.

Elizabeth Cody Stanton's "Solitude of Self," is the classic argument for why women needed to be enfranchised by the Sixteenth Amendment, but it also speaks to the generalized fear many women hold and to the need for self-reliance.  The perspective is not as fatalistic as it first appears and identifies the lessons to be learned when making one's way through perceived hostile environments:

...Nature having endowed them equally, leaves them to their own skill and judgment in the hour of danger, and, if not equal to the occasion, alike they perish.

To appreciate the importance of fitting every human soul for independent action, think for a moment of the immeasurable solitude of self. We come into the world alone, unlike all who have gone before us; we leave it alone under circumstances peculiar to ourselves. No mortal ever has been, no mortal ever will be like the soul just launched on the sea of life. ...

... The talk of sheltering woman from the fierce sterns of life is the sheerest mockery, for they beat on her from every point of the compass, just as they do on man, and with more fatal results, for he has been trained to protect himself, to resist, to conquer. Such are the facts in human experience, the responsibilities of individual. Rich and poor, intelligent and ignorant, wise and foolish, virtuous and vicious, man and woman, it is ever the same, each soul must depend wholly on itself.

* "Solitude of Self," Speech delivered before the Committee of the Judiciary of the United States Congress, Monday, January 18, 1892
Digital source:  http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.rbc/rbnawsa.n8358

 Another park use that is growing is horseback riding and trail biking.  The environmental impact of both of these activities can, however, be devastating to the land.  Overturning unreasonable perceptions in this area and finding a balance between new recreational forms and their impact on the land will present many choices and challenges for us and for park officials in the future.

SUGGESTED READINGS:

For additional perspective on the Blue Ridge mountain region and the many recreational opportunities available, you may find the following books useful  Only two books have attempted to cover the history of the Blue Ridge Parkway and both have a particular perspective that adds  to knowledge of the Parkway.

Harley Jolly's book, the first comprehensive account of the history of the Parkway was written in 1997.  Along the Blue Ridge Parkway, published by Englewood, CO : Westcliffe Publishers and photography by George Humphries, has been described as a romanticized view of the history, but the scholarship and the research is solid and informative and resonates with so many of us who have experienced the epiphany of a mountain sunset or a carpet of blooming rhododendron.  Another book by Jolley, Painting With a Comet's Tail : the touch of the landscape architect on the Blue Ridge Parkway,  published by the Appalachian Consortium in Boone, NC and the American Society of Landscape Architects, was published in 1987, and sensitively explores the design and aesthetic elements of the parkway.

Anne Mitchell Whisnant's book,  Super-Scenic Motorway: A Blue Ridge Parkway History. Published in 2006 by the University of North Carolina Press, presents an updated history of the Parkway and the many individuals who were responsible for its development. The focus of this well-researched account is on the many human interactions that are embedded in the history of the parkway and the many political and social challenges the designers of the parkway encountered.

In addition to the historical, Super-Scenic Motorway, Anne and her husband David E. Whisnant, have written a children's book that describes the coming of the Parkway to western North Carolina.  The book, When the Parkway Came, published by John F. Blair, Publisher, Winston-Salem, NC, tells the story of one family whose farm life was disrupted by the new Parkway and explores the  aspects of rural life along the parkway.

Additional titles may be found in the BIBLIOGRAPHY

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