Bulldozers in the Southern Part of Heaven: Defending Place against Rapid Growth. Part 1: Local Residents' Interpretations of Rapid Urban Growth in a Free-Standing Service-Class Town

Abstract

A qualitative social geographical study of a community group's interpretation of rapid urban growth in a free-standing service-class town, Chapel Hill, NC, is reported. The town has a reputation for being a beautiful and comfortable place. This is reflected in its metaphorical description as the ‘Southern Part of Heaven’. Members of the Chapel Hill Alliance of Neighborhoods had developed a strong sense of place in the town. Rapid growth threatened adverse change to elements of that sense of place. These included Chapel Hill's landscape and the life-style available to its residents. The symbolic and structural elements of Alliance members' interpretations of these changes are discussed.