Sense Of Place Research Articles

Local people's “sense of place” toward cultural heritage sites: correlation with demographic and socio-economic characteristics

PurposeThe paper aims at identifying the underlying factors that differentiate the local people's demographic and socio-economic characteristics, which influence their sense of place (SoP) toward different types of cultural heritage sites in different urban regions.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on the sequential explanatory design, using quantitative and qualitative methods, respectively, to investigate the research themes in-depth. A total of 201, 207 and 228 questionnaires were collected on religious, non-religious/memorial and historic commercial buildings, respectively, at two different quarters in Historic Cairo, followed by 20 semi-structured interviews with a representative sample of local people in each quarter.FindingsThe authors found an apparent similarity in the significant characteristics that influence the local people's SoP levels toward the different historic buildings at the same quarter and a notable variation between both quarters. Also, many factors determine the local people's influential characteristics on their SoP toward the different cultural heritage sites (e.g. the sites’ distance from the person's residence/workplace, economic value, people's awareness about its history, type of activities and targeted gender, feeling of stability and regions' characteristics)Practical implicationsIdentifying these underlying factors and priority local groups can assist policymakers in ensuring a sustainable management/conservation of the different cultural heritage sites.Originality/valueThe paper demonstrates the causality of a significant correlation between local people's characteristics and their SoP levels toward the different types of historic buildings, apart from their religious symbolism or historical value, using the sequential explanatory design.

Making or remaking people and places through festivals: an island tourism perspective

PurposeThis study aims to investigate two festivals that are held annually in Hong Kong, to explore the essence of festival meanings – the extent to which the perceived sociocultural benefits of festivals articulate the production of a sense of place (SOP) and its respective locality.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilises a comparative analysis approach to examine visitors’ views of the festivals. It constructs a theoretical framework of the interaction mechanism between tourism and place evolution by relying largely on the notion of place as the centre of meanings. Data sources include interview, questionnaire, observation and a literature review.FindingsThe findings suggest festival meanings are crucial elements in fostering SOP and shaping the identification of place uniqueness. Being part of local tradition and tourism resource, festival representations are not only passive reflections of prevailing cultural values drawn from current stereotypes and images, but they also play a prominent role in shaping values, behaviours and identities by contributing to the socialisation process. Cultural regeneration through festivals may ultimately contribute to the ontological construction of a place.Research limitations/implicationsGiven the unknown profile of the participants to both festivals, this study employed a convenience sampling method which might have limited the power of generalising the research outcome to other festivals. Besides, this study overlooked the potential differences (or lack of difference) in perceptions of the local residents who visited both festivals for the first time and other residents. Future studies may consider other aspects of festivals and place conceptions widely used in the tourism research field, to validate whether additional insights or hidden festival-to-place relationships can be found in the process of hosting and promoting festivals.Originality/valueThe existing studies of tourism–place relationship, especially those repelling scientific-positivist methodological paradigm, tend to overemphasise the role of tourism in unmaking places. In contrast, the interrogation of island festivals as the centre of meaning offers an alternative perspective to highlight the process that tourism dialectically contributes to place evolution. Tourism unmakes places while possessing a dialectic role of making places.

Combining sense of place theory with the ecosystem services concept: empirical insights and reflections from a participatory mapping study

ContextRiver landscapes represent hotspots for biodiversity and ecosystem services used and embraced by human agents. Changes in river landscapes are subjectively perceived by people and can be assessed through the lenses of cultural ecosystem services (CES) and sense of place (SOP).ObjectivesThis study aims to assess people–place relationships in a river landscape by integrating SOP theory and the CES concept and critically reflecting on their interplay. Research objectives relate to meanings and attachments attributed by citizens to places and the influence of the physical environment and socioeconomic settings.MethodsWe employed a spatially meaningful place indicator in a public participation GIS survey, combining meanings elucidated through a free listing exercise and multiple-choice questions. Statistical analyses were employed to investigate relationships between meanings, place attachment, and environmental and social variables.ResultsThe results showed that (1) place meaning assessments can complement place attachment data by enhancing the understanding of relationships to biophysical and socioeconomic variables, and (2) combinations of both assessment approaches for place meanings showed that CESs were reflected in many free listed meaning types, dominantly related to forms or practices, but neglect relational values, such as “Heimat” (i.e., in German expression of the long-standing connection to an area) or memories.ConclusionsThis paper explicates synergies between SOP theory and CES concept. CES research offers insights from spatial assessments, while SOP research provides theoretical depth regarding relational values linked to CES. This paper critically reflects the ostensible consent of understanding SOP as a CES and proposes considering SOP as an overarching theory for CES assessment.

Sense of place as an attitude: length of residence, landscape values and personal involvement in relation to a Brief version of the Jorgensen and Stedman (2001) sense of place scale (El sentido de lugar como actitud: tiempo de residencia, valores paisajísticos, e implicación personal en la versión breve de la Escala de Sentido de Lugar de Jorgensen y Stedman, 2001)

ABSTRACT Sense of Place (SOP) can be defined as an attitude towards places, expressed through affective, cognitive and behavioural responses that can be operationalized using the SOP scale. However, this scale has not been explored in relation to factors of people-place bonds such as length of residence, personal involvement and landscape values. We conducted three studies to explore these factors in different populations, while also contributing to the validation of a reduced version of the scale. Study 1 (N = 184) focused on its latent structure through EFA; study 2 (N = 138) examined its links to length of residence and landscape values, and analysed data fit through CFA; study 3 (N = 58) examined links between SOP, length of residence, landscape values and personal involvement, and the scale’s temporal stability. Results indicate a link between SOP and length of residence, personal involvement and some landscape values. They also support the validity of the reduced version of the scale as a unidimensional attitudinal construct, thus rendering it available for deployment in francophone samples.

Senses of Place: An Architectural Historian Before and During COVID-19

Senses of Place: An Architectural Historian Before and During COVID-19

Senses of place in Lawas Maspati Village Community at Surabaya: Exploration study towards physical, social, and cultural factors

The Lawas Maspati village in the Surabaya urban area has relics such as historical areas, ancient buildings with colonial architectural styles, and community cultural traditions such as the mutual cooperation attribute, cangkrukan (gathering), and local wisdom (culinary, craft SME). The efforts towards maintaining the heritage buildings and adapting to cultural dynamics as well as the local wisdom make Lawas Maspati Village a life diorama which allows a person to have a sense of place towards the village. This study was conducted to explore the sense of place in the Lawas Maspati Village community through physical, social, and cultural factors through the use of a qualitative descriptive method with a phenomenological approach. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and field documentation from respondents selected through a purposive sampling method using individuals that have lived for more than 20 years and aged over 40 years old. The results showed the sense of place in Lawas Maspati Village community was formed by physical, social, and cultural factors including the ancient colonial-style buildings, historical areas, historical memories in the struggle period through cultural heritage areas, mutual cooperation, mutual respect, cangkrukan tradition, friendly characteristics of Arek Suroboyo such as tolerance, openness, busyness but friendliness without hurt feelings, traditional culinary, and religious traditions.

Ecolinguistics and ecosophy

This article presents a philosophical framework for studies of ecolinguistics, combining the Eastern wisdom of ecological harmony and the Western human geographical concept of sense of place. To establish the basic criteria for ecolinguistic analysis, the article traces the three most influential Chinese schools of philosophy and extracts three of their shared disciplines: benevolence, frugality and intimacy with nature. To reveal the dynamic relationship between human beings and the places where they reside, the article revisits the concept of sense of place and extends it to cover an ecological dimension of people and place. Connecting ecological ethics derived from classical Chinese philosophy with systemic human-place dynamics, this proposed framework provides an ideological basis for ecolinguistic research, especially for discourse analysis. Following this ecosophy, the involved human beings and other elements of places included in a discourse can be revealed through the system of sense of place; and the ecological implications of linguistic features can be evaluated according to the three major principles. To complete the analysis, positive and negative orientations will be distinguished as well as a middle ground of ambivalent orientation. To conclude, this article aims to provide a well-grounded ideological reference for the deconstruction and subsequent assessment of linguistic resources, and thereby to establish a crucial strand of ecolinguistic scholarship.

Investigating SES variables causing changes in sense of place in the context of coastal wetland conservation - A case of Pulicat lagoon

Socio-Ecological System (SES) approach is being employed for more than 20 years to conserve coastal wetlands. It has been observed through literature study that the institutional mechanism used as SES approach for conserving coastal wetlands influences various dimensions of Sense of Place (SoP). This ‘influence’ on SoP many a time adversely affect the performances of projects. The paper investigates the impact of changes in SES variables on SoP components due to institutional mechanism adopted for conserving the Pulicat Lagoon, located in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The SES framework is used for identifying and analysing the responsible SES variable influencing changes in the SoP. A qualitative approach is adopted, to gain insight into an understudied phenomenon by using a semi-structured interview for the selected participants through purposive sampling (n = 30). Grounded theory was used to arrive at categories from thematic analysis of transcripted data. The data interpreted resulted in contextualizing the core phenomenon for theory generation. The findings reveal that socio-political dimension has a major role in instigating conflicts between Pulicat lagoon management (CRZ authorities and TN Forest Department) and coastal communities over resource ownership, recognition of their land rights and lacking participation towards conservation. In essence, the qualitative study reveals that communities reflect a deep association with the lagoon, which contributes significantly to their sense of belonging. Thus, result advocate for a strong involvement and integration of SoP values for effective place-based conservation.

Stevens's Letters and the Sense of Place

Stevens's Letters and the Sense of Place

A Study on the Change of ‘Sense of Place’ about Yesan Religion

장소성의 의미는 ‘한 장소에서 드러나는 특별한 성격’으로, 이는 물리적 위치인 공간(空間)에서 생활하는 사람들의 경험이 시간의 흐름에 따라 축적되면서 생성되는 특성이라 풀이할 수 있다. 장소성은 일정 공간의 자연환경이동일하게 유지되더라도 역사적 사건의 여파에 따라 변천을 겪으며, 지역 대내외적으로 순환되면서 강화되는 측면을 띠고 있다. 본고의 연구지역인 예산 지역은, 현재 대중적으로 인지도가 가장 높은 남연군묘 도굴사건을 바탕으로 그 장소성이 부각되는 면이 있다. 그러나 특정지역의 단편적인 사건 강조는 그 지역에 관한 전반적 인식의 폭을 제한하는단점이 있다. 주지하다시피 역사적 사건은 우발적으로 일어나기보다 일련의지리적·문화적 맥락에서 파생될 확률이 높기 때문이다. 이러한 측면에서 예산군의 장소성은 남연군묘가 대내외적으로 부각되고있으나 그와 관련된 지리적 배경과 역사적 맥락을 이해하는 것이 선행되어야한다고 본다. 이에 본고에서는 조선 후기 예산군에 관한 장소성 인식과 그 변천과정을 분석하기 위해 예산군의 인문지리학적 배경을 검토한 후, 기존 연구를 바탕으로 조선 후기의 발생한 연속적 사건과 그 영향을 살펴보았다. 분석 결과, 예산군은 서해안으로 연결되는 관내의 하천을 중심으로 해양문화와 내륙문화가 상호작용하며 발달한 문화적 배경을 띠고 있었다. 장소성의변천 측면에서 예산 지역은 고려시대부터 조선전기까지는 조운의 주요 경로로 인식되다가 조선 후기에 이르러 저명한 지리학자 이중환에 의해 국내 유수의 가거지(可居地)로 알려진 후, 천주교가 전파 전파된 후 부터는, 지속적인 조선 정부의 박해로 인해 극심한 천주교 박해지로 대두된다. 오페르트의남연군묘 도굴사건은 예산 지역의 인문지리적 환경과 이러한 장소성 변천을따라 설명되어야 하며 현재 남연군묘를 강조하려는 해당 지자체의 노력 또한오페르트 도굴사건이 일어난 제반 배경에 대한 이해를 기반으로 진행되어야한다고 생각된다.

Operationalizing sense of place to evaluate potential conflicts in natural resource-dependent rural economies

ABSTRACT This paper investigates possible opportunities for consensus-building using survey data from the Katahdin Region, Maine. The region is primarily known for its abundance in forest-based manufacturing and recreation opportunities and is undergoing a major transition in its regional economy. We do this by applying the sense of place (SOP) framework to test the utility of SOP for understanding the development priorities. We identify the key similarities and differences in SOP between and within demographic groups that might lead to conflicts. Our results can be used to target outreach and facilitation activities to effectively build regional consensus, particularly with respect to targeting economic development. This approach presents a nuanced, yet intuitive picture of regional socioeconomic concerns with significant utility for development practitioners.

When Less Is More: Downsizing, Sense of Place, and Well-Being in Late Life

The present study aimed to investigate the decision-making process and outcomes associated with downsizing to a smaller home in late life. Older adults who had downsized in the past year (n = 68) completed self-report measures of push-pull factors driving the decision to move, relocation controllability, sense of place (SOP), move satisfaction, and psychological well-being. It was hypothesized that the relation between push-pull factors and relocation outcomes (i.e., move satisfaction and psychological well-being) would be serially mediated by control and SOP. Haye’s PROCESS macro was used to test serial multiple mediator models for each of the relocation outcomes. Placing greater importance on push relative to pull factors was associated with lower levels of well-being in three domains: environmental mastery (b = -5.52, p = .002), purpose in life (b = -3.94, p = .01), and self-acceptance (b = -3.61, p = .007). Results of serial mediation analyses suggested that older adults whose downsizing decisions were more strongly influenced by push factors felt less control over relocation, found it more difficult to develop SOP in the new home, and, in turn, experienced lower levels of psychological well-being and move satisfaction. These findings can be used to inform older adults’ downsizing decisions and develop supports for relocating older adults.

Multimodal and scale-sensitive assessment of sense of place in residential areas of Ankara, Turkey

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.

Comment on Eaton et al.’s Reconceptualization of Economic Dependence in “Trouble with Sense of Place in Working Landscapes”

This commentary expands upon Eaton et al.’s research note about the challenges of measuring sense of place (SOP). Our body of work includes qualitative and quantitative research that supports their finding that landowners have a strong SOP and conservation ethic about their working lands. However, we deliberate on the importance of considering a broader interpretation of “economic dependence” in the context of SOP, which may include financial and non-financial benefits to the landowner. Eaton et al. report mixed results in its predictive power for conservation decisions on working lands. Yet, several issues negatively impacting economic dependence may override conservation management decisions and explain the “mixed” results reported by the authors. We posit that the definition of economic dependence should include both income and wealth generation as well as landowner amenity rents (defined as the landowner’s internally derived benefits or satisfaction from the amenities on their working lands).

Introducing the concept sense of place: A mediator between place of care and emotional distress of patients with cancer at the end of life.

A sense of place (SOP) is defined as the emotional bonds, values, meaning, and symbols attached to a place. To assess SOP of patients with cancer during end-of-life care at home (home-hospice service) versus at a hospital in relation to place of care, social support, and emotional distress. Participants were 150, stage IV, cancer patients with a life expectancy of less than 6 months, as defined by oncological staff, who were not receiving any life-prolonging care. Seventy-five patients received care at home (home-hospice), and the other 75 received care at the oncology department at the hospital, by palliative unit staff. Participants completed the Brief Symptom Inventory anxiety and depression subscales, questionnaires on perceived support and both questionnaires on home SOP and hospital SOP. Mean scores of emotional distress were similar for patients in home-hospice and at the hospital. Home SOP among individuals receiving care at home was high, and hospital SOP was high among hospitalized individuals. The structural equation model had good fit indexes, showing that each of the SOP variables mediated the association between place of care and emotional distress. Perceived support was associated with lower distress only in the hospital setting. The SOP concept is relevant to understanding emotional distress in relation to place of care at end of life. Strengthening SOP in relation to place of care should be considered. As newly introduced concept regarding place of care at the EoL, SOP warrants further research.

When less is more: Downsizing, sense of place, and well-being in late life

The present study aimed to investigate the decision-making process and outcomes associated with downsizing to a smaller home in late life. Older adults who had downsized in the past year (n = 68) were recruited across the U.S. between 2018 and 2019 and were interviewed eithr in person or over the phone. Participants completed self-report measures of push-pull factors driving the decision to move, relocation controllability, sense of place (SOP), and relocation outcomes (i.e., move satisfaction and psychological well-being). Placing greater importance on push relative to pull factors was associated with lower levels of well-being in three domains: environmental mastery, purpose in life, and self-acceptance. Results of serial mediation analyses suggested that older adults whose downsizing decisions were more strongly influenced by push factors, felt less control over relocation, found it more difficult to develop SOP in the new home, and, in turn, experienced lower levels of psychological well-being and move satisfaction. These findings can be used to inform older adults’ downsizing decisions and develop supports for relocating older adults.

Country roads through 1s and 0s: Sense of place for and recollection of West Virginia following long-term engagement with Fallout 76.

Invoking Tuan’s cultural–geographic notion of sense of place (SoP), this study examined the potential for video game play to foster a sense of affective familiarity with (emotional connection) and abstract understanding of (place recollection) actual physical locations rendered in digital environments. A total of 556 players of Fallout 76 were asked about their SoP for and recollection of West Virginia (WV) 2 weeks prior to the game’s launch (T1), with follow-up questions 2 weeks (T2) and 2 months (T3) following the game’s launch. SoP scores were compared between WV natives and non-natives, with the expectation that natives would have greater SoP scores prior to gameplay. The expected T1 SoP gap was found, but this gap closed for all players at T2, with non-natives experiencing a significant increase in their SoP for WV on par with natives’ feelings of the same. For those no longer playing, T3 SoP scores returned to T1 (preplay) levels. Effects on place recollection (such as recalling location names) were similar but less pronounced. Although an early exploration into SoP and video games, these data have implications for SoP considerations in video game research and design.

Supplemental Material for Country roads through 1s and 0s: Sense of place for and recollection of West Virginia following long-term engagement with Fallout 76.

Invoking Tuan’s cultural–geographic notion of sense of place (SoP), this study examined the potential for video game play to foster a sense of affective familiarity with (emotional connection) and abstract understanding of (place recollection) actual physical locations rendered in digital environments. A total of 556 players of Fallout 76 were asked about their SoP for and recollection of West Virginia (WV) 2 weeks prior to the game’s launch (T1), with follow-up questions 2 weeks (T2) and 2 months (T3) following the game’s launch. SoP scores were compared between WV natives and non-natives, with the expectation that natives would have greater SoP scores prior to gameplay. The expected T1 SoP gap was found, but this gap closed for all players at T2, with non-natives experiencing a significant increase in their SoP for WV on par with natives’ feelings of the same. For those no longer playing, T3 SoP scores returned to T1 (preplay) levels. Effects on place recollection (such as recalling location names) were similar but less pronounced. Although an early exploration into SoP and video games, these data have implications for SoP considerations in video game research and design.

Willingness of the New Generation of Farmers to Participate in Rural Tourism: The Role of Perceived Impacts and Sense of Place

This study aims to assess the willingness of the new generation of farmers in China to return to their hometowns for the purpose of contributing to rural tourism. Based on the hierarchy of effects models (HOE) and the social representation theory (SRT), this study utilized an analysis model of perceived rural tourism impacts (P), sense of place (SoP), and willingness to participate (WTP) by the new generation of farmers, where sense of place was deconstructed into the two independent dimensions of place identification (PI) and place attachment (PA). A total of 263 valid questionnaire surveys were collected in Yanling County, a demonstration county for leisure agriculture and rural tourism in China. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was used to analyze the data. The results show that the perceived impacts of rural tourism on the new generation of farmers had a significant positive impact on their willingness to participate in the development of rural tourism. It was also found that sense of place played a mediating role in the perceived impacts of rural tourism and willingness to participate. Additionally, perceived impacts of rural tourism had a significant positive effect on place identity, where place identity played a mediating role between perceived impacts of rural tourism and place attachment. Place identity had a significant positive effect on place attachment, and place attachment played a mediating role between place identity and willingness to participate. The practical implications of these findings for future research and rural tourism development are also discussed.

SENSE OF PLACE PADA ATMOSPHERE RESORT CAFÉ SEBAGAI OASE DI PUSAT KOTA BANDUNG, JL. LENGKONG BESAR

Abstrak- Bentuk fasilitas rekreasi, relaksasi dan hiburan berupa restoran dan café terus berkembang pesat dengan inovasi tanpa henti. Aspek ini terus berkembang untuk memenuhi permintaan gaya hidup masyarakat yang semakin konsumtif sebagai akibat dari perkembangan zaman tanpa henti ke arah yang semakin modern. Era globalisasi ini pun menggiring masyarakat pada perkembangan teknologi informasi dan komunikasi yang berdampak pada kehidupan sosial masyarakat. Gaya hidup kemudian menjadi identitas dari masing-masing individu yang dianggap sebagai kunci dari kehidupan sosial mereka melalui media sosial. Maka dari itu arsitektur didalam dunia kuliner diharapkan dapat menjadi daya tarik bagi pengunjung agar kemudian dapat diunggah dalam media sosial mereka.Inovasi yang dihadirkan oleh Atmosphere Resort Café adalah adanya pensuasanaan resort pada café-nya yang berlokasi di kawasan pusat Kota Bandung, Jalan Lengkong Besar. Kawasan ini merupakan kawasan perdagangan dan perumahan padat, dan merupakan jalan utama dengan satu arah pada kawasan setempat. Pihak Atmosphere Resort Café berharap dapat menghadirkan pensuasanaan yang berbeda di kawasan pusat kota ini melalui konsep resort café-nya, juga untuk menjadi berbeda dari café-café lain.Lokasinya yang berada di pusat kota menjadi sebuah tantangan tersendiri untuk dapat menghadirkan pensuasanaan resort yang pada umumnya ditemukan di kawasan pinggiran kota, jauh dari pusat kota itu sendiri. Maka bagaimana sense of place dengan karakter resort dapat diterapkan di kawasan pusat Kota Bandung sehingga menjadi sebuah oase menjadi menarik untuk dibahas. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk dapat mengetahui karakter tempat seperti apakah yang dimiliki Atmosphere Resort Café melalui analisis sense of place dengan karakter resort, serta dampaknya bagi para pengunjung atau pengguna.Metode yang digunakan berupa pendekatan kualitatif dengan cara menguraikan konteks kawasan dan karakter resor, serta menguraikan komponen sense of place yaitu setting pada tatanan fisiknya dan pengguna untuk memahami reaksi psikologis yang terjadi. Setting pada tatanan fisiknya mencakup identitas dan faktor fisik, sedangkan pengguna mencakup kualitas yang dirasakan terhadap setting yang ada. Pengambilan data dilakukan melalui peninajuan lapangan, studi pustaka, wawancara, pengumpulan kuesioner sebagai respon pengunjung dan dokumentasi.Diperoleh kesimpulan bahwa karakter resort pada kawasan pusat kota ini diperkuat dengan adanya arsitektur lanskap sebagai salah satu elemen utama Atmosphere Resort Café. Selain itu tatanan massa dan spasialitas ruang yang ada, ditunjang dengan penggunaan materialnya yang memperkuat cerminan alam, membuat pensuasanaan resort semakin terasa dan pensuasanaan pusat kota yang hiruk pikuk dimatikan melalui kontrol ruang yang diciptakan. Setting yang ada pun berhasil merangsang kesadaran dan persepsi pengunjung. Pengunjung pun merasa senang dan relaks saat berada di Atmosphere Resort Café dengan adanya pensuasanaan yang demikian. Maka didapati karakter tempat Atmosphere Resort Café sebagai sebuah resort café yang memperkuat identitasnya sebagai oase di pusat kota Bandung.