The urban fringe – the zone lying between urban areas and the countryside, - offers valuable opportunities for commercial and residential development as well as for recreational activities, but it is often characterised by a number of land use problems and environmental conflicts. Within the UK, the urban fringe can be seen as a contested and dynamic space, yet for almost 70 years statutory town planning policies for the urban fringe have been largely concerned with containment designed to stop urban encroachment into the countryside. However, in 1970s a number of experimental urban fringe management projects were established around town and cities within the UK, culminating in the creation of the Groundwork projects, and here the focus was on a wider and more flexible approach, and more specifically on providing a range of opportunities for recreation, and to attempt to reconcile environmental conflicts. This paper explores the evolution of Groundwork, and more specifically focuses on two Research Questions namely, what was the initial rationale and aims of Groundwork? and secondly what is its current focus and future direction?

The target area of the survey is the rehabilitated flat area behind the capital cities of Vienna and Bratislava, which lies in the tourist area of Győr. Wetlands provide a backdrop for tourism products such as kite flying, cycling and walking. The city centre offers tourists an easy sightseeing tour behind the natural scenery of the Danube tributary (Szigetköz). Objective: The demographic characteristics of demand and preferences for active tourism product types and the extent of the scope of supply were analyzed. The present research also analyses the cycling routes in the region with regard to the EUROVELO 6 road network. The primary research was a quantitative (questionnaire) survey conducted between 10 September 2023 and 30 October 2023. The survey sample of 666 respondents is not representative and was selected by random sampling. The results of the research include an analysis of the demand for participation in cycling tourism and tour programs as activities requiring activity. The findings of the research provide a basis for demand-supply segmentation of sustainable active tourism product development based on physical experience according to demographic characteristics (e.g. age, education). The landscape of the wetland can be positioned for the bicycle tourists. Especially for the target group of people over 40 and for people with higher education. The scope of the guided tours, linked to the central offer, extends over an area of more than 50 km. Activating the target group helps the rehabilitated natural scenery to connect to sustainable tourism.