Place attachment,place identity,and place memory: Restoring the forgotten city past

This paper investigates collective memory in inhabitants of two twin cities, Lviv (Ukraine, previously Lwów, Poland) and Wroc?aw (Poland, previously Breslau, Germany). Due to territorial changes in Eastern and Central Europe after World War II, the two cities changed their state belonging and—consequently—their populations. This study focused on memory of residence place and on its relationship with place identity and place attachment.     

The role of place identity and place attachment in breaking environmental protection laws

Place identity and place attachment have been related to several environmental variables such as appropriation, residential satisfaction, physical care taken of the neighbourhood, restorativeness, environmental attitudes and, especially, pro-environmental behaviour. However, the role of place identity and place attachment has not been analyzed in relation to anti-ecological behaviours such as transgressions of environmental protection laws. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship of place identity, place attachment and environmental attitudes to the personal and social norms that explain the likelihood of illegal behaviours against the environment. The sample was composed of men and women, aged from 19 to 70 years, who were resident in rural, urban or tourist areas of a territory under high environmental protection. The strongest predictor of environmental transgression is personal norms, whereas place identity and place attachment have no direct relation with future transgression or personal norms. Place identity influences environmental attitudes and social norms, which are both antecedents of personal norms. The results led us to reconsider the efficacy of interventions aimed at encouraging compliance with environmental laws by only emphasizing individuals' bonds with the environment, and the need to extend the study of the role of personal and social norms in environmental protection.     

Place attachment and place identity: First-year undergraduates making the transition from home to university

This paper examines the issues emanating from the transition into a new social and cultural environment distant from the home, the context of which is provided by the transition from home to university. The study analyses the transitional process over a period of 5 months, using data obtained from in-depth semi-structured interviews and participant observation of ten first-year undergraduates who moved to study at the University of Gloucestershire in Cheltenham. It explores the mediating variables that impact place attachment and place identity during the transition from home to university. Within this context consideration is given to how participants made sense of changes in their socio-spatial environment, the ensuing problems and challenges of doing so, and how these meanings affected self-perceptions and self-evaluations. The analysis demonstrates how participant's stories of the transition evince an abiding concern with the loss of place, manifest in terms of an erosion of a sense of belonging, attachment and continuity and an undermining of home's capacity to symbolise the self. The implications of such accounts for our understanding of place attachment and identity are then explored. The paper concludes by advocating a holistic approach to our conceptualisation of place, given that place meanings are constantly being evaluated and redefined in light of changing social and physical relationships with place and between people and place.     

Sociodemographic effects on place bonding

Patterns of amenity migration and recreational home development in much of the USA since the 1990s are changing the local sociodemographic make-up and the relationships formed among people and place. We use the psychological constructs of place attachment, place identity, and place dependence to assess differences in these relationships among new and long-time residents and absentee and local residents in three rural counties in the Inland Northwest. We measured place bonding using data from a mail survey of local (n = 531) and absentee (n = 239) property owners. We compared structural models suggested in the literature on the psychology of place, and found that a two-dimensional model representing place attachment and place identity was appropriate for both local and absentee property owners. Local owners exhibited stronger place attachment and place identity than absentee owners. Place bonding constructs were also substantially less impacted by the total number of years a property owner had resided on his or her property than by the number of months per year they lived on the property. The findings indicate that sociodemographic changes such as those manifested in second-home development may lead to a population that is less emotionally, behaviorally, and cognitively connected to the places in question, while sociodemographic changes from permanent in-migration may have a substantially smaller effect on place bonding.     

The measurement of place attachment: Personal,community, and environmental connections

Place attachment has been researched extensively in the social and behavioural sciences over the past two decades. However, it is challenging for researchers to assimilate the mixed messages presented in the place attachment literature and to understand the multiple place attachment terms. In this study, a four-dimensional model of rural landholder attachments to their natural resource management region was conceptually and empirically developed with the aim of developing an integrated approach to the measurement of place attachment that clearly distinguishes between different elements of place scholarship. A 29-item place attachment scale with the dimensions of place identity, place dependence, nature bonding, and social bonding was tested on a random sample of rural landholders in the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia (N = 320). The majority of respondents were male (69.3%) and the average age was 59 years. The scale was reduced to 20-items and then administered simultaneously and in the same response format to rural landholders in two other areas of South Australia: the Northern and Yorke region (N = 664) and South Australian Murray-Darling Basin region (N = 659). In both studies, the majority of respondents were male (85%) and the average age was 55 years. Exploratory factor and reliability analyses of Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges and Northern and Yorke datasets produced a five-dimensional model of place attachment with high reliabilities. Social bonding divided into the constructs of family bonding and friend bonding. The refined five-dimensional model was then examined for convergent validity, with moderate but significant correlations found between individual attachment constructs and dependent variables expected to be related to the construct, such as place identity and length of residence, and nature bonding and time currently spent in nature. We used confirmatory factor analysis to test the goodness-of-fit of the South Australian Murray-Darling Basin (SAMDB) dataset to the proposed five-dimensional model and then compared its fit to the traditional two-dimensional model of place identity and place dependence. The five-dimensional model provided moderate fit for the SAMDB data. We conclude with a discussion of the validity and reliability of the five-dimensional model and its future role in place attachment research.     

Place attachment in a foreign settlement

This paper examines issues arising from the involuntary relocation of Turkish Cypriot refugees from the southern to the northern portion of the island of Cyprus. After the ceasefire in 1974, participants in this study were relocated into homes originally built and occupied by Greek Cypriots. Using data obtained from questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and drawings, the study analyses their place attachment under the unusual circumstances of their own forced relocation coupled with their occupation of homes abandoned by residents also displaced by war and interethnic hostility. The study compares the place attachment of refugees to their children, who were born and brought up in the new community. The results of this study suggest that participants' future expectations shaped their attachment to their new homes and community, whilst their degree of attachment to their previous environments also played an important role in the attachment process. Younger generations, on the other hand, were more attached to their current environment than older generations; however they did not wish to be identified with their current environment.     

Natural area visitors' place meaning and place attachment ascribed to a marine setting

Investigations of place have often focused on either place meaning (utilizing interpretive designs) or place attachment (using quantitative measures). Rarely have researchers explored the association between place meaning and place attachment. Hence, this investigation was designed to explore how individuals' attachment to a natural environment is reflected in their depictions of why the resource is meaningful.     

Defining place attachment: A tripartite organizing framework

Place attachment has been researched quite broadly, and so has been defined in a variety of ways. The various definitions of the concept are reviewed and synthesized into a three-dimensional, person–process–place organizing framework. The person dimension of place attachment refers to its individually or collectively determined meanings. The psychological dimension includes the affective, cognitive, and behavioral components of attachment. The place dimension emphasizes the place characteristics of attachment, including spatial level, specificity, and the prominence of social or physical elements. In addition, potential functions of place attachment are reviewed. The framework organizes related place attachment concepts and thus clarifies the term. The framework may also be used to stimulate new research, investigate multidimensionality, create operational definitions for quantitative studies, guide semi-structured interviews for qualitative studies, and assist in conflict resolution for successful land-use management.     

The relations between natural and civic place attachment and pro-environmental behavior

The relation between place attachment and pro-environmental behavior is unclear. Studies have reported that place attachment is associated both with more and less pro-environmental behavior. To help clarify this, we distinguished two dimensions of place attachment: civic and natural, and explored their respective influences on pro-environmental behavior. A community sample of residents (N = 104) from two proximate towns with different environmental reputations reported the strength of their civic and natural place attachment, their performance of various pro-environmental behaviors, and a number of sociodemographic characteristics. Regression analyses revealed that natural, but not civic place attachment predicted pro-environmental behavior when controlling for the town, length of residence, gender, education and age. This demonstrates that research and theory on place attachment should consider its civic and natural dimensions independently.     

Towards a developmental theory of place attachment

Place theory offers no explanation of the developmental processes by which place attachment arises. Drawing on recent findings in human attachment theory, this study offers a developmental model of the process by which place attachment emerges from a childhood place experience. A pattern of positively affected experiences of place in childhood are generalised into an unconscious internal working model of place which manifests subjectively as a long-term positively affected bond to place known as place attachment. Qualitative analysis of adult remembrance of childhood place experience provides support for this model and finds important parallels in the developmental processes underpinning place attachment and human attachment as well as some differences.     

A comparative analysis of predictors of sense of place dimensions: attachment to, dependence on, and identification with lakeshore properties

Sense of place can be conceived as a multidimensional construct representing beliefs, emotions and behavioural commitments concerning a particular geographic setting. This view, grounded in attitude theory, can better reveal complex relationships between the experience of a place and attributes of that place than approaches that do not differentiate cognitive, affective and conative domains. Shoreline property owners (N=290) in northern Wisconsin were surveyed about their sense of place for their lakeshore properties. A predictive model comprising owners' age, length of ownership, participation in recreational activities, days spent on the property, extent of property development, and perceptions of environmental features, was employed to explain the variation in dimensions of sense of place. In general, the results supported a multidimensional approach to sense of place in a context where there were moderate to high correlations among the three place dimensions. Perceptions of environmental features were the biggest predictors of place dimensions, with owners' perceptions of lake importance varying in explanatory power across place dimensions.     

Towards an integrative model of place identification: Dimensionality and predictors of intrapersonal-level place preferences

Research on place identity has been hampered by confusion in defining the concept and lacks an integrated account of social and motivational processes underlying people's identification with places. We used multilevel modelling (N = 141) to investigate the dimensionality and predictors of intrapersonal variance in place identification, drawing on psychological and anthropological literatures. Confirmatory factor analysis distinguished three dimensions of place identification (attachment/self-extension, environmental fit, and place-self congruity), and each was predicted by a somewhat different combination of needs and motives (e.g., self-esteem, continuity, distinctiveness, belonging, meaning, security, control, aesthetic pleasure) and social/symbolic links to places (e.g., genealogy, economics, loss, narrative, spiritual significance, special events). Satisfaction of needs and motives partially accounted for effects of social/symbolic links.     

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.     

Stability of self-reported favourite places and place attachment over a 10-month period

We investigated the reliability and stability of favourite place selections and evaluations of place attachment over a 10-month period. A simple random sample of 1273 respondents representative of the population of the two largest cities in Finland completed a mailed questionnaire. Reliability data was obtained in a second questionnaire (N = 427). We obtained five main favourite place types which were extensively managed natural settings (mainly urban woodlands), urban green spaces (mostly parks), waterside environments, exercise and activity/hobby areas, and indoor and outdoor urban areas. Sixty-four percent of the respondents in the second survey selected the same main favourite place type as 10 months earlier, which is more than what might be expected by chance. Extensively managed natural settings (mainly urban woodlands) and waterside environments were reselected most often. Indoor and outdoor urban favourite places had the lowest stability. We found evidence of people being more consistent in their attachment to natural favourite places than to urban favourite places. The findings lend further credence and credibility to earlier results concerning self-regulation and restorative experiences in favourite places.     

Connectedness to nature,place attachment and conservation behaviour: Testing connectedness theory among farmers

The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between pro-environmental behaviour and two forms of emotional association: attachment to place and connectedness to nature. This relationship is explored in the context of farmers' management of native vegetation on their properties. A postal survey was conducted to measure the extent to which farmers felt connected to nature and to their property. The survey also measured vegetation management behaviours and associated valued outcomes. A total of 141 farmers in northwest Victoria, Australia, completed the survey. Results showed that vegetation protection behaviours increased with connectedness to nature (CNS), although CNS accounted for only a modest amount of the variation in behaviour. Place attachment was not related to management behaviours. Further analysis suggested that the relationship between CNS and management behaviour was mediated by importance given to environmental benefits of vegetation management. The findings lend weight to studies showing a relationship between CNS and more simple conservation behaviours (e.g. recycling). The findings are also consistent with frameworks suggesting that emotional association with nature leads to an expanded sense of self and greater valuing of non-human species, and so to pro-environment behaviour. This demonstrates the importance of using a range of instrumental and more affective strategies to promote conservation behaviours.     

Place attachment and public acceptance of renewable energy: A tidal energy case study

Efforts by many governments to mitigate climate change by increasing deployment of renewable energy technologies have raised the importance of issues of public acceptance. The ‘NIMBY’ (Not In My Backyard) concept, although popular, has been critiqued as an appropriate and valid way to explain local opposition. This study applies an alternative approach, empirically investigating the role of place attachment and place-related symbolic meanings in explaining public responses to a tidal energy converter in Northern Ireland, said to be the first grid-connected device of its kind in the world. 271 residents in two nearby villages completed questionnaire surveys, three months post-installation, following up preliminary qualitative research using focus groups. Although results indicated predominantly positive and supportive responses to the project, manifest by emotional responses and levels of acceptance, significant differences between residents in each village were also observed. Contrasting patterns of association between place attachment and emotional responses suggest that the project enhanced rather than disrupted place attachments only in one of the two villages. In regression analyses, place attachment emerged as a significant, positive predictor of project acceptance in both places, affirming its value in explaining public response. Place-related symbolic meanings also emerged as significant, with contrasting sets of meanings proving significant in each context. Implications of the findings for research on place attachment and responses to land-use changes, as well as for developers seeking to engage with residents affected by energy projects are discussed.     

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.     

Ways to make people active: The role of place attachment, cultural capital, and neighborhood ties

This paper tries to reconcile two sets of apparently contradictory results. One is the positive link, postulated in literature, between place attachment and civic activity, the other is the sociological claim that there is a negative relationship between place attachment and a person's social and cultural status (cultural capital), which in turn is known to be the strongest positive predictor of civic involvement.In order to resolve this inconsistency, I postulated two alternative paths leading to civic activity: the social–emotional path, in which the relationship between place attachment and civic activity is mediated by local social capital (neighborhoods ties), and cultural path, consisting of cultural capital and interest in own roots. I also postulated a negative link between place attachment and cultural capital.A representative sample of 1328 subjects, coming from three regions of Poland, differing in historical heritage and objective rootedness of inhabitants, was used for analysis. In a series of structural equations, the two-path model was confirmed both in the whole sample and in each of the three regions separately. Similar results were obtained from a separate analysis run on data clustered into 114 communes.     

Connecting with Country in Mungo National Park,Australia: a case study to measure the emotional dimension of experience and place attachment

Connecting people with nature improves well-being, but how people connect with natural places is not well documented. We asked 43 people (19 Aboriginal Australians, 24 non-Aboriginal people) about the messages they received from Country during an interactive experience in the remote Mungo National Park, Australia, and analysed the physical senses, emotions and cognitive processes they mentioned. The physical senses mentioned by most respondents were sight, hearing and motion (particularly walking). These senses helped people receive messages from Country and connect with place. We used the primary-process emotional systems of Panksepp [2010. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 12 (4), 533–545] as a framework to capture the emotional dimension of experience. Most people reported positive emotions; they spoke about being nurtured by the group and the land (CARE), and the intense joy (PLAY) of being part of the community, being on Country and being accompanied by Aboriginal people. However, our results indicate the framework does not capture the breadth of positive emotions, particularly those associated with connection to place and spiritual experiences. Both groups mentioned cognitive processes reflecting their beliefs, existing knowledge, or sharing and acquiring new knowledge. Our results indicate that the emotional dimension of experience has the potential to measure connection to place, and provide a subjective measure of well-being. More research is needed to document this dimension of experience, and how it changes with context. Our case study provides further insight for those who manage protected areas and seek to enrich the experience of visitors.     

The influence of place attachment, and moral and normative concerns on the conservation of native vegetation: A test of two behavioural models

This study examines the influence of place attachment, values, beliefs and personal norms about environmental action on the conservation of native vegetation in two primary production settings in South Australia. We use regression and multiple mediation analyses to test a base model of pro-environmental behaviour which includes variables from value-belief-norm (VBN) theory and then compare it to an expanded model which includes the same variables and five dimensions of place attachment. The expanded model including place attachment explained up to twice the amount of variance in native vegetation planting than the base model when controlling for all variables preceding behaviour, but the overall explanatory power was low (<22%). Place attachment had a stronger influence on the antecedents of behaviour compared with the behaviour itself, particularly nature bonding which was a significant moderate predictor of both personal norms and awareness of consequences in the two study regions. We assert that place attachment has statistically significant direct and indirect effects on variables included in VBN theory. Future studies may reveal stronger effects in settings where there are fewer resource and monetary costs associated with pro-environmental behaviour.