266 Book rrviervs

and it is this uhich dictates ihe contents of the second and third parts of the volume. Brietly. this approach advocates the identification of clear goals and objectives for retail and commercial planning and their articulation in two main types of plans, yenrrtrl IW~IU~~WICIII pl~rts which ebtab- lish broad policies-these can be viewed as similar in function to, but much more comprehensive than. Structure and District Plans-and specicrl pkzns which esamine specific problems-similar to the current Subject Plans.

The four chapters of section two of the book discuss the preparation of general management plans. First, and most clearly. this is done by outlining a selection of Structure and District Plans for a variety of local authorities, pointing to their deficiencies. and then suggesting improve- ments. Second. in chapters 7 and S, it is shown that new developments, renovation and rede- velopment bring about key changes in the shape of the distributive system and thus warrant careful appraisal by planners drawing up management plans. Part three of the book selects four kinds of problems which should be dealt with by special plans. namely. the impact of new shopping schemes, small shops and related small activities. transport, and the special needs found in parts of cities and rural districts.

The book is clear and easy to read, it contains good examples of planning policies and achieve- mcnts. and the references to the individual chap- tars. taken together, make a useful bibliography of recent studies of retailing in Britain. The book will be appreciated by geographers for these qualities. although those familiar with the pub- lished works of the author will have come across many of the ideas and some of the examples before. hlany of Dr Davies’s studies arc already part of the staple diet of undergraduate courses on the geography of retailing. It is primarily a text for planners, and it offers them three things-first, a convincing argument that retail and commercial activities should be planned in a comprehensive way; second. an outline of such an approach through general management plans and special plans which can be accommodated within the existing planning machinery; and third, a demon- stration of the practical utility of this alternative approach. I think the book will stimulate discus- sion in planning circles.

C. Roy Lewis

Tivy. J. lrnpacr of coal-related developmenr on resource-orientated recrearional land use in the Upper Hunter Valley. Canberra: Australian National University. Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, CRES Paper 1.

Australia possesses some of the largest coal deposits in the world and in recent years coal exports-principally to Japan-have become an increasingly important component of the coun- try’s foreign exchange earnings. Particular atten- tion is now being focused on the massive near- surface deposits in Queensland. Victoria and New South Wales which can be extracted relatively easily through open-cut mining techniques.

Inevitably such operations involve enormous actual or potential disruptions to the social and physical landscape and it is now commonplncc for these impacts to be analyssd by academic sociologists, hydrologists, biologists and the likr. Geographers have always played 21 prominent role in such investigations. either as members of formally constituted Environmental Impact Assessment teams or as individual researchsrs. The author of the present monograph-Joy Tivy-is a well-known British biogeographer with a long-standing interest in recreational impact. It is thus fitting that a sabbatical break from Glas- gow in 1982 should see her as a V’isiting Fellow at the well-established Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies at the Austr‘ilian National University. In recent years members of the Csntrr have been involved in a number of &tailed studies in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales and it was logical that Professor Tivy should find a niche in this programme.

Few areas of Australia are undergoing such profound physical, economic and social trdns- formation as the rural Hunter region. inland from Newcastle and just to the north of Sydney:. C:ntil comparatively recently the economy of this tr,in- quil area centred mainly around sgriculturc. forestry, touristn and the WIIX industry. But it was perhaps inevitable that the huge deposits of easily workable steaming and coking coal should some day be exploited on a large scale. and by IYS7 there were no less than 12 operational open-cast mines and two large thermal power stations in the region. Coal-mining is set for considerable expan- sion in the future and there are also plans for at least one aluminium smelter. Increasingly- especially in the Upper Hunter-the landscape is being radically transformed and the brash symbols of the region’s new industrial identity are noa- the electricity pylon, the mechanical excavator and the coal truck.

Conflict is always a corollary of economic and physical change on this scale and in the case of the Hunter region the main conflict is clearly between those favouring a future for the Hunter region centred largely around recreation. conservation and farming and those who wish to exploit the non-renewable coal resources to the full. This is where the trained geographer can play a useful role by first identifying and making an inventory of the recreational resource base for a region. then evaluating the likely future pressures on those resources, and finally assessing whether it

Book reviews 767

might not be possible to manage development in

such a way as to be compatible with non-industrial values. This is precisely what Tivy has attempted

to do, and considering the time constraints under which she laboured and her relative lack of prior familiarity with the Australian recreation research and policy scene, she has done an admirable job.

Her compact monograph is divided into two main sections of roughly equal length. The first outlines in considerable detail the existing supply situation of land and water available for resource- oriented recreation in the eight shires comprising the Upper Hunter re,gion of New South Wales. This is a scenically dtverse area with landscapes ranging from the high sub-alpine plateaux of the Barrington Tops to the heavily-used coastal beach and lake environments of the Myall Lakes Nation- al Park, 100 km from Newcastle. The author provides a useful inventory of the various recrea- tion areas in the region such as national parks.

nature reserves and state recreation areas and. where possible, provides ‘state of the art’ informa- tion on current use levels and trends in visitation. This section contains a wealth of basic resource and p~~rticipation data which-prior to the pub- lication of the present report-had not been

available in one source document. Clear maps and tables present the information in easily readable form.

The over~vhelming impression gained from this section of the study is that the visitation and participation data are extremely variable in terms

of their quality. A few of the recreation sites in the region have quite good user statistics but in other instances the data are virtually non-existent. Tivy

has highlighted many of the glaring deficiencies and inconsistencies and in this she has performed a useful service. (It is interesting to note, for example. that the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service has subsequently set in train a major project to standardize user data and collection procedures across the state.) The other major point that strikes the reader of this section concerns the highly fragmented administrative structure of recreation site management and control existing in the state of New South Wales.

This is a common phenomenon in Australia and has its roots in the early evolution of a myriad of government departments and statutory authorities each jealously guarding its own particular area of jurisdiction. While on the one hand this system certainly encourages the devolution of power and

decision-making, on the other hand it also results in a highly inefficient and virtually unworkable

planning framework. Inter-agency rivalry and goal differences, for example, make it that much more difficult to produce a coordinated rec- reational management strategy for a region such as the Upper Hunter.

The second part of the monograph focuses on both the present and future direct and indirect impacts of coal and related developments in the

Upper Hunter region. The direct effects involve

such obvious ‘negative‘ features as the loss of land to mining or the construction of intrusive new

high-voltage transmission lines. But. as well. invariably there are ‘positive’ changes affecting the recreational landscape. Roads are frequently upgraded and extensive artificial reservoirs can add significantly to the leisure amenity of a region. The indirect impacts discussed by Tivy

concern air and water pollution and population growth and change. The latter is particularly important from the recreational management point of view since population size and composi-

tion is by far the most important factor determin- ing future demand levels for recreation. A valu- able section of the report uses previous Australian research on recreational participation to make some tentative projections for future demand for certain activities for specific sites in the Hunter

region. Predictably. considerable growth in recreation-

al demand from local residents is highlighted, but the author is quick to point out that industrial

development of this type and on this scale frequently adds as much as it detracts from the local leisure resource base. Massive mining schemes are frequently a powerful magnet for tourist traffic and the large new reservoir com- plexes are expected to generate a marked expan- sion in the demand for water-based recreation.

In all. this is an estremely useful study demon- strating that it is by no means impossibie for the individual researcher to cross the divide separat- ing physical and human geography. Too little research emphasis to date has been placed on the dynamic recreational scene in areas undergoing rapid economic and landscape transformation and

in many ways the present report breaks new ground, Although the setting is a specific part of Australia there is much in this monograph to interest recreation researchers and pohcy-makers elsewhere. The approach. methodology and re- commendations for future study are of general application in many similar parts of Britain. North

America and Western Europe as well as in the Hunter Valtey of New South Wales.

David Xfercer Deparrnwrrt of Geogrphp, ,Wonash University

Hedlund. S. Crisis in Soviet ugricultwe. London: Croom Helm, 1984. 225 pp. f17.95 hardback.

The crisis in Soviet agriculture is not, as in many Third World countries. an inability to provide an adequate calorie supply, but an inability to pro- vide for the Soviet consumers’ demand for meat. This has ted to a growing dependence upon cereal imports. particularly from the United States, and