Squeezing the most from volunteered geographic: information to monitor mountain biking in peri-urban protected and recreational areas at a metropolitan scale

Recent studies have proved that volunteered geographic information is a valid data source to monitor outdoor activities within protected and recreational areas. However, these studies were carried out mainly at local scales, overlooking the real potential of such data for managing recreational activities on larger scales. In this research, using 9526 mountain bike tracks shared by 1319 identified riders, we studied 5 different peri-urban parks in a large metropolitan area. We learned that mountain biking actively targets these areas and that recreational behaviours shift according to each location. Users' commitment could be inferred from the dataset, adding new value to previous studies. This broader scale can also provide insights regarding riders’ preferences and behaviours, providing park staff and managers with better information ranging from use intensity in the entire area to identifying environmental and social conflicts, thereby allowing measures to be taken to mitigate these.