Economic Benefits from Biking Trails and Greenways

Abstract

Due to a growing need for health and wellbeing of the urban population and revitalization of the rural economies biking has become one of the top recreational activities is the U.S. While the impact of individual health and wellbeing from biking activities well recognized in the literature, the economic impact of bike tourism in rural communities is less recognized. The purpose of this paper is to review the studies on the economic impact of biking trails and greenways on the local communities and provide a guideline on how to undertake such studies based on available methodologies in the literature. In doing so, the paper discusses the objectives and goals for creating infrastructure for greenway and biking trails in the local communities including methodologies used to assess the economic impacts. This study concludes that for a long-run sustainable development, local community’s social and economic resources that already exist can be utilized for building biker friendly communities.