Abstract
In order to make the phenomenological concept sense of place (SoP) pragmatic in design and planning, this research investigates the SoP indicators concerning spatial scales of the physical environment. Seven indicators are extracted from the literature, namely ‘place identity’, ‘place dependence’, ‘nature bonding’, ‘social bonding’, ‘sense of belonging’, ‘familiarity’ and ‘social interaction’. In this paper, their relevance was discussed against ‘place attachment’ which is used interchangeably with SoP in the literature. ‘Place attachment’ and the seven indicators were scored through interviews with residents in general and at the the building, street and neighbourhood scales, in six housing developments selected from Ankara, Turkey. The residents rated their experiences regarding a set of statements for each indicator using the seven-point Likert scale. The data sets then were validated statistically. The correlations between each indicator and ‘place attachment’ in general and at the three scales were identified. The results showed that ‘place identity’ and ‘place dependence’ were the most relevant indicators to SoP, at the street and neighbourhood scales in particular. The second most relevant indicators were ‘sense of belonging’ and ‘social bonding’ at the building and street scales and ‘social interaction’ at the street scale. The research suggests that these five indicators could be employed to evaluate SoP at all scales or guide place-making at a particular spatial scale in planning and design.
Highlights
The built environment is primarily shaped by design and planning actions today and affects human behaviours (Smith 2011)
The study asks the following two questions: (1) How sense of place (SoP) or ‘place attachment’ can be understood or assessed at the three spatial scales? (2) What are the most relevant indicators of SoP or ‘place attachment’ at each spatial scale? The identified indicators and the ways through which they are measured in this research can help designers and planners understand the impact of the built environment on place-making at the three scales
The housing types that exist in the city today include: traditional Turkish wooden houses emerged during the late Ottoman Empire period (1890s–1923); single-family terrace houses from the early Republican period (1923–1950); low-rise apartment buildings developed during the modernist period (1950–1980); medium-rise apartment buildings of gated communities built by housing cooperatives in the Liberalism period (1980–2000); and highrise apartment buildings of the gated community since the 2000s
Summary
The built environment is primarily shaped by design and planning actions today and affects human behaviours (Smith 2011). Through an intensive literature review, the research employs ‘place attachment’ as a measurable alternative to SoP (e.g., Low and Altman 1992; Raymond et al 2010; Shamai, 1991; Shamai and Ilatov 2005; Vanclay 2008; Williams et al 1992). The identified indicators and the ways through which they are measured in this research can help designers and planners understand the impact of the built environment on place-making at the three scales. The most relevant indicators can form an evaluation framework of SoP which could be applied to other residential developments to assess the impact of design and planning actions
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
