Disruption to place attachment and the protection of restorative environments: A wind energy case study

Deepening understanding of public responses to large-scale renewable energy projects is of academic and practical importance, given policies to lessen fossil fuel use in many countries. Although the NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) concept is commonly used to explain public opposition, the concept has been extensively critiqued. This study applies an alternative approach based upon the notion of disruption to place attachment, and the theory of social representations, with a focus upon the symbolic meanings associated with a proposed project and the places affected by it. Empirical data is provided from a case study of a proposed 750 MW offshore wind farm in North Wales, using group discussions and questionnaires distributed to local residents in two coastal towns (n = 488). Results indicate significant differences between each town's residents in their responses to the project, and how opposition arises from nature/industry symbolic contradictions: between a place represented in terms of scenic beauty that provides a restorative environment for residents and visitors, and a wind farm that will industrialise the area and ‘fence’ in the bay. In one of the towns, the data suggests that contradiction between project and place was experienced as a threat to identity for those with strong place attachment, leading to negative attitudes and oppositional behaviour. Levels of trust in key actors moderated the relation between place attachment and negative attitudes to the wind farm. The results provide further evidence of the role of place attachment in shaping so-called ‘NIMBY’ responses to development proposals, and challenge the assumption that offshore wind farms will prove less controversial than those onshore.     

Opponents,waverers or supporters: the influence of place-attachment dimensions on local residents' acceptance of a planned biosphere reserve in Austria

A supportive attitude of residents towards protected areas is crucial for successful implementation and management, particularly in densely populated regions such as Central Europe. While previous studies have revealed that emotional and cultural drivers, as well as information level and group membership, can influence attitudes towards protected areas, the effect of place-attachment dimensions remains unclear. A postal survey among local residents (N = 460) explored factors influencing attitudes towards the Lungau (-Nockberge) Biosphere Reserve in Austria before its official recognition. Results indicated societal support throughout all socio-demographic strata. A logistic regression showed that, besides socio-demographics and information level, place attachment had a significant influence on the acceptance of the biosphere reserve. Supporters and opponents showed both high place identity and dependence, while waverers scored low on these dimensions. Results indicate that place attachment is relevant for the design of participatory processes as well as for developing management policies for biosphere reserves.     

Local energy generation projects: assessing equity and risks

Micro- and small-scale low-carbon energy generators embedded within villages, towns and cities can provide a valuable income stream for local communities among other potential benefits. There are a range of social, political, technical and environmental factors that may impact upon the success of a planned energy generation project; however, these factors are rarely considered in unison. The aim of this research is to investigate and understand the concerns relating to equity and distributional justice that impact upon local groups interested in developing energy projects and to determine whether a whole systems approach can be used to draw out perceived issues. This has been achieved by working with two small village groups to test a newly developed energy equity assessment tool. This paper reports research findings from two villages in the UK both planning energy projects that intended to benefit their respective villages and examines perceived issues relating to equity and distributional justice associated with the proposed schemes. The research highlights some challenges facing community groups when planning micro- and small-scale energy projects and demonstrates the commitment, tenacity and high levels of personal risk that these groups have to bear in order to bring their projects to fruition and comments as to the type of actions that may be required to more wholly consider equity issues while developing future energy policy.     

An empirical study on the public perception and acceptance of hydrogen energy in Taiwan

In this study, we extract factors by using factor analysis and then adopt them in a regression analysis to investigate the public perception and acceptance of hydrogen energy in Taiwan. Six reliable factors were extracted from the exploratory factor analysis of 29 5-point Likert-type items. Our regression results show that the public perception of hydrogen energy as a green energy, public belief in domestic hydrogen industries being able to conform to international safety standards, and public perception of the cost advantage of hydrogen gas over petroleum have significantly positive effects on support for the development of hydrogen energy in Taiwan. While people have a high level of concern about the safety of hydrogen and its associated technologies, the unsafe perceptions of hydrogen and its associated technologies have no significant effects on their support. In particular, public belief in domestic hydrogen industries being able to conform to international safety standards is a powerful factor that enhances support for hydrogen energy development.     

The English football ground as a representation of home

Home refers to a number of locations and various meanings associated with it have been identified. However, research has been limited by a focus on house and traditional family. To expand our understanding, this study explored whether a secondary space, the English professional football ground, embodied the same meanings as other places called home. Web survey respondents confirmed, to some extent, their preferred football team's home stadium does represent home similarly. Three distinct aspects of the home emerged: general qualities of home, place attachment, and the importance of social interactions. Some aspects varied by length of team occupancy and season ticket holder status; but none differed by gender. Though the football stadium does represent some qualities of home, it was speculated this may be due to the unique connection to place that underlies English football. Future research should explore how the views of stadiums and other public spaces as home places vary across locales in order to identify how home differs from places to which we are attached.     

Wind energy development in Ontario: a process/product paradox

The Province of Ontario is aggressively pursuing renewable energy development, but not without significant turbulence. Ontario's Green Energy Act (2009) reflects this aggressive pursuit, and is aimed at making the province a global leader in renewable energy development. Wind energy is an integral but controversial part of these commitments. While several installations have been built or announced, conflicts surrounding the development of the technology continue to grow. This article documents, analyses and interprets media coverage in order to understand public discourse potentially driving support for and resistance to wind energy development (WED) in Ontario. Contrary to numerous studies which have elucidated public attitudes towards WED, the media discourse analysed suggests that roadblocks to public acceptance of the technology are more rooted in the development process (renewable energy policies and their implementation) rather than the products of WED (wind turbines). The study highlights the need for increased procedural justice to ameliorate feelings of unfairness which play a key role in fuelling resistance to the technology.     

Place attachment as a driver of adaptation in coastal communities in Northern Norway

Changes in a range of interlinked factors, in social, economic, environmental and climatic conditions, require adaptation in many communities. This paper explores how place attachment affects adaptive responses to a changing social context through analysing adaptation in two coastal municipalities in Northern Norway. The main challenge in these municipalities is declining populations and the consequences accompanying this trend, including livelihood uncertainties and decreased provision of public services. This paper discusses the role of place attachment in motivating adaptation to these changes to contribute to a growing body of literature within climate change adaptation on “subjective” (values, culture and place) dimensions. The findings suggest that people are motivated to act based on their emotional connection with place, and the paper argues that place attachment may offer a better starting point for climate change adaptation than an emphasis on climate change impacts.     

Analysis of energy use in a sample of Chinese villages

This paper summarises the methodology and results of work involved in the investigation of energy demand in six Chinese villages included in the SUCCESS Project. The procedures used to collect data associated with local energy demand are explained and the approach to data analysis is explained. Results are provided in terms for delivered energy consumption, as an indicator of energy demand; primary energy consumption, as an indicator of energy resource depletion; and carbon dioxide emissions, as an indicator of global climate change. Similarities and differences between results for this sample of villages are considered. The important causes of differences in results are investigated.     

Place attachment and flood preparedness

Does place attachment and the consequent emotional connections and ties that people have with environments affect their preparedness for natural disasters, such as floods? This study took up this research question for the understudied geographical region of Orissa, India. In particular, investigation focused on three kinds of place attachment, viz. economic, genealogical, and religious. Contextualized scales for place attachment and flood preparedness were developed for a survey. Data were collected from 300 residents in flood prone areas. Validity and reliability of the scales were established. Overall, place attachment was found to significantly influence flood preparedness. Hierarchical regression analysis was performed to determine whether the three factors of place attachment influence flood preparedness. Controlling for confounding effects of age and family type, regression analysis revealed that people having genealogical and economic place attachment prepared for floods, but those with religious place attachment did not prepare for floods. The implications of these findings for future studies are described.     

Drivers of social equity in renewable energy at the municipal level: the case of local Japanese energy policy and preferences

ABSTRACT

Recent research has allowed us to quantify the costs and benefits of adopting renewable energy in specific municipalities, but how do these outcomes vary among communities at the national scale? This study uses survey responses from 47 Japanese municipalities to model these impacts and identifies key technological, social, and demographic factors that shape which communities benefit more from the renewable energy transition. On average, introducing renewable energy improves social equity, any financial burden on electricity prices is born most by wealthier residents, not the poor, and towns are predisposed to benefit from renewables no matter the amount introduced. To improve these impacts, towns can increase the amount of solar they host, or they can adjust the amount of CO2 emissions, PM emissions, tax revenue, jobs gained, or unpopular renewable power plants in their town. However, preferences and demographics matter as well. Age, education, and local preferences in favor of employment and community development all significantly relate to equity potential outcomes. Policymakers should consider adjusting their local energy priorities using these levers if they hope to engineer a renewable energy transition that is both positive and popular for their constituents.     

The Influence of Place Attachment and Experience Use History on Perceived Depreciative Visitor Behavior and Crowding in an Urban National Park

Research on recreational place attachment suggests that place identity, or the emotional/symbolic ties people have to places, and place dependence, which describes a functional attachment to a specific place, influence the perception of social and environmental site conditions. Recent research, however, has found that place attachment is not always a predictor of such perceptions. This study investigated the influence of place attachment and experience use history on the perception of depreciative visitor behavior, recreation impacts and crowding in an urban national park. In 2006, 605 on-site visitors to the heavily-used Viennese part of the Danube Floodplains National Park were asked about past experience, place attachment, perceptions of depreciative visitor behavior, crowding, changes in visitor numbers during the past ten years, and recreation impacts on wildlife. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the two dimensions of place attachment. Linear regression analyses found that place identity and place dependence were related to some perceived depreciative visitor behaviors and visitor number changes but not to crowding, while experience use history additionally related to perceived crowding. Visitors with higher place attachment and past experience were more sensitive to social and environmental site conditions. Management implications of the findings are discussed.     

Public attitudes to nuclear energy: Salience and anxiety

During the last decade there has been a significant increase in public concern about nuclear energy. This paper presents a brief overview of trends and developments in public opinion since the late 1970s. One possible reason for this increased concern is the public's perception of risks. Research has shown a considerable divergence in public and expert assessment of the risks associated with nuclear energy. It will be argued that qualitative aspects of these risks play a crucial role in the public's perception of nuclear energy, and that reactions such as fear and anxiety are the major determinants of attitudes to the building of new nuclear power stations in one's neighbourhood. It is also clear, however, that differences in the perception of these risks do not embrace all the relevant aspects of public acceptance of nuclear energy. Public reaction is also related to more general values and beliefs, and the issue of nuclear energy is firmly embedded in a much wider moral and political domain.     

Home energy efficiency grants and advice: findings from the English Midlands

Research was conducted in Nottinghamshire, England to investigate public attitudes regarding home energy efficiency issues. Quantitative data were collected in the form of a postal survey, achieving over three hundred responses. Additionally, predominantly qualitative data were collected in semi-structured interviews in 15 homes. The issues investigated included the grant-funded energy efficiency measures installed by the public, the organisations providing grants, the means by which the recipients were referred to the organisations, and the public's preferences regarding energy efficiency advice. Findings were made about the local authority's success in encouraging the take-up of energy efficiency grants, about the public's preferences for the means by which advice should be provided, about trust relating to energy efficiency grants provided by gas and electricity suppliers, and about people's knowledge of the most effective energy efficiency measures. Additional findings were drawn about specific energy efficiency issues, including old heating systems and compact fluorescent light bulbs.     

A critical discussion of research on the social acceptance of renewable energy generation and associated infrastructures and an agenda for the future

Social sciences’ research on the social acceptance of renewable energy generation and associated technologies (RET), such as high voltage power lines, has been growing in the last decades. In fact, while RET are considered one of the main mitigation measures of climate change, opposition to their construction, and namely from the local communities living nearby, is often found. Important conceptual proposals have been made for a better understanding of opposition, however, this literature still presents some limitations. Here, I will discuss two of them: first, the main focus on the local and, with it, the lack of a relational and critical approach, which recognizes opposition and other types of responses to RET as public participation in RET-related issues; second, the focus on the individual and the consequent lack of examining people’s material practices and engagements.     

Harnessing place attachment for local climate mitigation? Hypothesising connections between broadening representations of place and readiness for change

Public engagement in local environmental planning and decision-making is often advocated on various grounds, both instrumental and normative. Yet in developed countries in the context of renewable energy infrastructure deployment, place attachment, place identity and place-protective action continue to be implicated in public objection. We set out an interdisciplinary change readiness hypothesis of specifically how local participatory scenario or visioning processes that include climate mitigation measures may support the mobilisation of place attachment for climate mitigation, including renewable energy deployment. We hypothesise that local visioning may support movement towards change readiness by helping to anchor unfamiliar social representations of low carbon energy infrastructure and new patterns of urban form in existing, more positive representations of localities and associated attachments. To this end, seeking ways to modify threat perceptions relating to climate change and renewable energy infrastructure is advocated as a key direction for study.     

Domestic energy usage and its' health implications on residents of the Ese‐Odo and Okitipupa local government areas of Ondo state,Nigeria

This study examined domestic energy usage and its health implication on residents of Ese‐Odo and Okitipupa Local Government Areas (LGA), of Ondo State. Systematic random sampling was used to select 103 and 156 respondents in Ese‐Odo and Okitipupa LGA, respectively. It was established that environmental and socio‐economic related attributes influenced residents' choice of domestic energy type. Similarly, burns, blindness, stroke, cataract and pulmonary diseases were the most prevalent self‐reported ill‐health. A relatively weak correlation between domestic energy usage and ill‐health is experienced by the residents. Therefore, the study concluded that the use of traditional energy types had significant adverse effects on the health of the residents in Okitipupa and Ese‐Odo LGAs of Ondo State.     

The value of mixed method content analysis for understanding renewable energy deployment and policy outcomes

Transitioning to renewable energy has become a global phenomenon. Attempts to explain development patterns are often fragmented, focusing on specific rationale for (un)successful deployment or the perspective of specific stakeholders. We recognize the importance for holistic insights for successful and effective environmental policy-making and planning in the context of renewable energy development. Using wind energy as an example, this paper provides methodological toolkits for utilizing content analysis (CA) to gain more holistic insights on renewable energy deployment and policy outcomes. Building on existing literature, past and ongoing research, three variations of CA are presented for understanding stakeholder conflicts surrounding wind energy development as well as public perceptions and responses to the technology across space and over time. Although newspapers are used as an example, these methodological protocols could be applied to diverse forms of data such as interviews, policy documents, reports, public meetings and letters of appeal.     

Non-transport household energy consumption in Adelaide and Melbourne

The residential sector is the third largest sector of final energy use in Australian urban areas, accounting for about 12% of the country's total final energy consumption. What are the main determinants of energy consumption in the residential sector? This paper sheds light on this question by examining non-transport summer household energy consumption in Adelaide and Melbourne. Data were collected from a survey of 200 sample households and modelled according to a conceptual framework that not only emphasises household characteristics and housing stock characteristics but also controls the macro-environment factors. The findings reveal distinctive results in Adelaide and Melbourne. In Adelaide, household characteristics are the most important contributors in explaining non-transport household energy consumption. In Melbourne, the household characteristic as represented by income is important, but housing stock characteristics provide even more explanatory power. These findings contribute to the understanding of the factors that shape residential energy consumption and have policy implications in targeting household energy savings.     

CREATING A SENSE OF PLACE: THE VIETNAMESE-AMERICANS AND LITTLE SAIGON

Based on a study of Little Saigon, an ethnic enclave in Westminster, California, this paper examines the physical, social, symbolic and emotional significance of such places in the lives of immigrants. We focus on three specific aspects of the ethnic enclave: architectural elements, everyday social interaction within the enclave, and public ritual events. We highlight how the built architectural environment and the immigrants' social, commercial, and ritual activities interact to create and sustain a sense of place, foster community identity, and structure social relations. We conclude that ethnic enclaves constitute an important aspect of an immigrant's place identity enabling him/her to simultaneously remain connected to the places left behind and yet appropriating and forging significant new place ties.