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Integrating Social Perceptions in Beach Management

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Beach Management Tools - Concepts, Methodologies and Case Studies

Part of the book series: Coastal Research Library ((COASTALRL,volume 24))

Abstract

Beach management of many coastal tourist regions has been marked by strongly sectoral and fragmented management visions and poor public engagement. The resulting mismanagement has often led to a loss of environmental and recreational quality and social conflicts. This chapter aims to go beyond traditional reductionist approaches and include a social dimension in beach management. Effective coastal systems assessment requires moving away from single-discipline evaluation methods and taking on board integrated and multidimensional perspectives that acknowledge the complexity of beach systems.

Comprehensive information on user expectations and local community demands need to be part of any assessment system so as to ensure a better informed process. The goal of the set of methodologies described here is to show how the expectations of local authorities and public bodies, the tourist sector and other economic stakeholders, beach users and environmentalist groups can all be met. Past research in the Mediterranean context provides insights into public preferences and perceptions, which appear to be not only influenced by specific beach characteristics (landscape, physical and environmental variables, facilities, services, etc) but also by beach user behaviours and profiles. They also vary according to the local context, so context-dependent criteria need also to be considered in any systematic approach to beach management and assessment. In other words, each beach and each beach type needs to be managed in an adaptive fashion in terms of locally specific quality criteria and considering the perspectives of all the affected stakeholders.

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Acknowledgements

This chapter was funded by the PaiRisClima research project (GL2014-55387-R) supported by the Spanish Ministry of the Economy and Competitiveness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – BarcelonaTech, C/Jordi Girona, 1-3, 08034, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Elisabet Roca & Míriam Villares

Authors
  1. Elisabet Roca
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  2. Míriam Villares
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Correspondence to Elisabet Roca .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Law Universidad Sergio Arboleda, Santa Marta, Colombia

    Camilo M. Botero

  2. Facultad de Ciencias Marinas, University of Colima, Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico

    Omar Cervantes

  3. Coastal Education and Research Foundation (CERF), Fletcher, North Carolina, USA

    Charles W. Finkl

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Roca, E., Villares, M. (2018). Integrating Social Perceptions in Beach Management. In: Botero, C., Cervantes, O., Finkl, C. (eds) Beach Management Tools - Concepts, Methodologies and Case Studies. Coastal Research Library, vol 24. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58304-4_45

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