Building livable communities: Lessons learnt from the 2012 LARASA Congress

Abstract

This paper presents a review of the papers presented at the Leisure and Recreation Association of South Africa (LARASA) inaugural congress hosted in Durban from 11 – 14 March 2012 at the International Convention Centre. The 2012 LARASA Congress was organized to achieve the primary goals of knowledge development, sharing of intellect and to create the awareness of the importance of the benefits of recreation services to improve the quality of life, enhance the human condition and transform places into livable communities. The main theme of the Congress was building livable communities with several sub themes. The Congress included papers submitted from fourteen countries around the world. Arranged thematically, this review presents a synopsis of the expert findings of the papers presented at the congress. In conclusion, the lessons learnt forms the basis of the recommendations for practical application, future research, to reposition the recreation and leisure service industry in South Africa, to meet the leisure needs of the people, and to support the sector skills development plan to ensure the creation of livable and sustainable communities.

Keywords: Livability, community, quality of life, transformation.