Abstract |
Migration is a global fact which is driven by many complex and inter-related economic, social, political, environmental reasons. Europe has become ‘a continent of immigration’ in the course of the last half century, and European societies have experienced growing ethnic and cultural diversity (Okolski, 2012). Accordingly diverse social groups with various cultural backgrounds interact in everyday life. Besides several economic and social challenges, the role of outdoor recreation on urban green spaces (UGS) deserves consideration in the social inclusion of immigrants. UGS are public places for recreation, stress relief, outdoor recreation activities and places for interaction and encountering other people. In contrast to dense built environment of the cities, meeting and communicating on urban green can be platform for breaking social segregation (German-Chiari and Seeland, 2004, Seeland et al., 2009, Leikkila et al., 2013). |