Understanding the place attachment and place identity in public space through the ability of community mental map

Abstract

Nowadays, numerous large cities in Indonesia are intensively providing urban public spaces. One of the famous public open spaces in Semarang City is the Simpang Lima area that serves as not only a public interaction space, but also a landmark of the city. Its visitors who come from various ages carry out activities in the daily and weekly times as they sit, discuss and interact with others. In addition, this public space is also used as a media for expressing ideas or interests of a group of users, such as groups with certain hobbies. The tendency of preference towards the use of public space is strongly influenced by one’s psychological attachment to space and place identity. This study aimed to examine the substance of place attachment and place identity through the ability of the community mental map. This study employed a phenomenological and functional approach, namely the disclosure of the ability of the community mental map through the technique of drawing sketches of areas that they understood and recognized and then supplemented by in-depth interviews. The results of the study illustrated that the attachment of places by users depended on their experience when visiting in this public space and the characteristics of the place identity of this public space.