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This article offers a systematic concept analysis of place identity, a concept central to place branding, suffering from conceptual confusion. The study provides an overview of related terminology, theoretical foundations, conceptualizations, and associated operationalizations of place-related identity concepts. Building on identity theory and a thematic analysis of measurement items gathered, a framework conceptualizing place-related identity elements is proposed, distinguishing between different dimensions of identification. Results show a range of cognitive, affective, and conative and evaluative elements of place identity/identification and applicable testable sub-dimensions. Findings show how different labels have been applied to identify what appear to be conceptually equivalent constructs. Potential links between elements, outcomes, and related concepts are discussed and recommendations for measurement approaches, construction of measurement scales, and future research are presented. Results highlight the need for research in the area to exert stringency when applying the terms in their research and to carefully define and delineate concepts when gathering data and reporting results. • Contributes to the conceptualization and taxonomy of place identity. • Provides a framework of the place identity/identification construct. • Gives an overview of a range of measures organized into (testable) dimensions. • Clarifies the relationship between place identity and place image. • Presents elements relevant to strengthen stakeholders' place identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between spatial mobility and place attachment has always been an important part of the psychology of place. However, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the context of international migration. Thus, this paper brings together the existing scholarship on place attachment and migration studies in order to discuss the development of place attachment among settled migrants, focusing on the example of Poles living in London and Oslo. Drawing on 60 semi-structured in-depth interviews, it is argued that people's bonding with a new place of residence could be described more adequately as a dynamic process rather than through static typologies. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that different aspects of place attachment, namely place dependence, place discovered, place identity, and place inherited, often coexist and may emerge gradually in the process of adaptation to a new urban setting. • Studying migrants' place attachment as a process offers a new insight. • Different aspects of place attachment emerge gradually with time and may coexist. • Even first generation migrants may develop strong bonds with their destination places. • Relative forms of attachment based on affordances or direct experiences emerge fast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following Williams' (2014) call for a more thoughtful approach to the study of place meaning , the present study employs a phenomenological research paradigm to elicit deeply personal meanings formed through conservation volunteerism. A photovoice protocol (n = 18) and life history interviews (n = 53) explore meaningful places for volunteer “stewards” in Scottsdale, Arizona's McDowell Sonoran Conservancy. Inductive thematic text analysis reveals how these volunteers form identity-expressive meanings that transcend and traverse geographic place scales. Results suggest that the concept of place identity is more than a sub-construct of place attachment , and requires further theorizing as a phenomenologically-embodied experience. Nonprofits and municipalities can learn from the organization's success in fostering an environmental steward identity as a means of community building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional population decline has become a major problem for many rural areas in developed countries. The threat of regional decline due to population shrinkage may have a disruptive effect on people's attachment to their place of residence. This study explored the role of time perspective (past, present, and future) in the residential context, termed residential time perspective , as a potential mediator of the relationship between regional decline and place attachment. A survey was conducted among residents (n = 1000) living in municipalities in Japan that exhibited various rates of estimated population decline. Participants living in rural areas with higher rates of population decline reported more negative time perspectives and less attachment to their places of residence compared with participants living in urban areas. Multiple mediation analyses confirmed the viability of residential time perspective as a mediator of the relationship between residents' perceptions of regional decline and place attachment. Rural residency with a threat of regional decline moderated the mediation effect at the individual level, with significant mediation occurring through the past dimension. We suggest that the concept of residential time perspective can improve our understanding of place attachment processes and merits consideration in the context of regional sustainability. • The role of residential time perspective (future, present, and past) is addressed. • Residents in areas with population decline have lower attachment to the place. • Residential time perspective mediated the disruption process of place attachment. • Rural residency with a threat of regional decline moderated the mediation effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationships between place attachment, the theory of planned behaviour and place-protective action. Place attachment was higher in people who evaluated place change as negative. However, only half of the people who thought change would be negative reported protesting. The theory of planned behaviour was found to predict protesting. People who had positive attitudes about the value of protesting, who thought that most people around them were protesting, and who had greater perceived behavioural control were more likely to protest. A follow-up study after the place-protective actions had been successful found that people who thought their actions had influenced decision making were more likely to intend to remain civically engaged. These results have implications for our understanding of civic behaviour and the roles attachment to place, attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control play in how people interpret and react to place change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to bring the concept of place identity into the context of intergroup relationships in urban place, using the social identity approach. A field study was conducted in four adjacent neighbourhoods in the city of Lisbon, in order to explore the influence of place identity on the perception of the participants’ own neighbourhood and its residents (in-group) and of the other neighbourhoods and their residents (out-groups). The results showed that place identity was highly correlated with neighbourhood satisfaction, relevant out-group differentiation, and favouritism to the in-group and depreciation of the relevant out-group. The results also enabled the identification of three types of possible relationships between the groups: a relevant out-group for comparison, an idealized reference group for approximation, and a devaluated group for avoidance. Moreover, in this study, we extend the predictions of SIA to the comprehension of specific distance estimation distortion patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on segregation has expanded beyond its traditional focus on the residential demography of cities to explore how, why and with what consequences segregation manifests within activity spaces outside the home. As part of this shift, researchers have become increasingly interested in the time geography of residents' everyday mobility practices. Building on this work, the present paper explores the role of place identity dynamics in shaping how Catholic and Protestant residents navigate everyday spaces over time in the historically divided city of Belfast. To do so, we employ a novel combination of walking interviews (n = 33), GPS tracking, GIS visualizations, and photo-elicitation. By recovering residents' lived experiences of moving through the sensuous, material, and symbolic landscapes of the city, we show how the interrelated dynamics of place belonging and alienation influence their mobility choices in ways that maintain sectarian divisions. We also show how the concept of place identity enriches the materialist notion of mobility 'constraints' that has characterized most time geographic work on segregation. In conclusion, we suggest that interventions to promote desegregation must transform not only relations between different communities, but also relations between community members and the activity spaces in which their everyday movements are embedded. • Segregation is maintained through everyday mobility practices in divided cities. • Such practices are shaped by residents' sense of place identity. • Mobile methods such as GPS tracking and walking interviews can provide new data on place identity dynamics. • Interventions to promote desegregation must transform the activity spaces in which residents' everyday movements are embedded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Place attachment regulates people-environment transactions across various relevant environmental–psychological processes. However, there is no consensus about its role in the relationship between environmental risk perception and coping behaviours. Since place attachment is strongly related to place-specific dimensions of one's own identity and may be linked to spatial-biases, it is hypothesized that place attachment negatively moderates the relation between environmental risk perception and prevention behaviours enacted to cope with environmental risks. Two studies were conducted in two Italian cities exposed to low and high flood risk. Results show that, even though higher levels of risk perception may exert a positive effect in improving people's willingness to cope with an environmental risk, this effect is weaker when it is associated with strong place attachment. Findings suggest that affect-based cues, such as place attachment, diminish environmental risk coping intentions and actions when associated with high risk perception. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Place attachment implies affective bonds between people and their surroundings, while R-E fit describes the compatibility between recreationists and recreation settings. Close connections exist between R-E fit and place attachment since R-E fit shares some common ground with critical antecedents such as destination attractiveness. However, related research that touches upon this issue is still sparse so far; therefore, this study proposed and tested the relationships between six dimensions of R-E fit and three dimensions of place attachment. A convenience sample of hiker on trails of Yangmingshan National Park in Taiwan was chosen to be interviewed. Data were collected by using face-to-face interview. The procedure resulted in interviewing 392 hikers. The results showed that all dimensions of R–E fit except facilities have significant positive impacts on place dependence and place identity. In addition, interpersonal opportunities and operation/management have significant positive impacts on social bonding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the relationships between place of residence, living in a threatened place and the subsets of place attachment: place identity and place dependence. Six hundred participants living in south-west Western Australia in rural and urban areas with varying degrees of bushfire risk responded to surveys asking about their reasons for living in their local area, their place attachment and their socio-demographic details. MANOVAs revealed a significant effect of place of residence on place identity with rural residents reporting higher place identity than urban dwellers. Urban dwellers reported lower place dependence than rural dwellers except when they lived in a fire prone area, in which case their place dependence was on par with that of rural residents. Socio-demographic predictors of both place identity and place dependence to the home and local area were also explored, these included length of residence, education, and owning one's home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging research has suggested the importance of neighbourhood identification for supporting community wellbeing, especially in disadvantaged areas. However, these relationships have not been tested across diverse neighbourhoods, nor in experimental studies that might establish causal links. To address this, we recruited a diverse community sample of over 3700 participants across two studies. Study 1 was a survey (N = 1617 from 772 distinct neighbourhoods) and found that neighbourhood identification is a mechanism through which neighbourhood socioeconomic status affects wellbeing. Study 2 was an experiment (N = 2109 from 909 distinct neighbourhoods) that found that neighbourhood identification could be enhanced through a subtle framing manipulation, which in turn predicted wellbeing, loneliness, and social cohesion. These effects were not moderated by neighbourhood socioeconomic status. Findings are discussed with a focus on implications for designing effective interventions to support community wellbeing. • Neighbourhood disadvantage predicts poorer wellbeing. • Reduced neighbourhood identification partially explained this relationship. • Two studies were conducted with >3700 people from >900 neighbourhoods. • Experimental evidence found that neighbourhood identification could be increased. • Neighbourhood identification also predicted social cohesion and reduced loneliness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have been providing increasing evidence of the direct relationship between place attachment and environmentally responsible behavior and intentions. However, research on indirect and moderating effects of place attachment sub-constructs (i.e., place dependence and place identity) on intentions is scarce. This paper addresses the gap by assessing effects of place dependence and place identity on recycling intention in conjunction with the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB). 1071 Hong Kong respondents recruited using an online survey indicated their intention to participate in recycling behavior. Results suggest that place dependence indirectly influences recycling intention via place identity in the theoretical structure of the TPB. Place identity significantly moderates the relationships between instrumental attitude and recycling intention, and between perceived behavioral control and recycling intention, while the relationship between experiential attitude and intention is not subject to place identity. This study assesses the importance of place attachment as a personal factor influencing environmental outcomes and provides insights into the complex relationships between person-place bonding and pro-environmental behavior. • We integrated place dependence (PD) and place identity (PI) into the extended TPB. • PD indirectly influences recycling intention via PI in the extended TPB. • PI shows similar predictive capability with significant TPB constructs. • PI negatively moderates the relationship between instrumental attitude and recycling intention. • PI positively moderates the relationship between perceived behavioral control and recycling intention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The question of the presence of religious symbols (e.g. crosses) in public space is an important topic in public discourse, leading to many political disagreements and legal disputes. What seems to be missing in the debate about crosses in public space (schools, universities, hospitals) is an assessment of the psychological consequences that these symbols might have for religious and non-religious people visiting, studying and working in such places. The present experimental study examined the influence of religious displays in a public university room on the psychological state of students: their self-esteem, as well as positive and negative affect. The study found that the religious symbol reduced negative affect among students who identify strongly with religion and those who frequently attend religious ceremonies. The negative effects on non-religious students were less pronounced. This result is discussed with reference to self-affirmation theory, environmental psychological theories and more recent findings on the social consequences of more subtle religious exposures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: 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. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: 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. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: 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. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: 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. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper investigates collective memory in inhabitants of two twin cities, Lviv (Ukraine, previously Lwów, Poland) and Wrocław (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. A sample of 200 participants from three districts of Lviv and 301 participants from four districts of Wrocław were investigated on a number of issues, including reported place identity (city district, city, country region, nation, Europe, world, human being), place attachment (apartment, house, neighborhood, city district, city) and place memory (memory of the city, the city district, the street, and the house). Collective memory showed a powerful ethnic bias, equally strong in both cities, but with different underlying mechanisms: predictors of the bias were national identity in Lviv and demographic variables (age) and lack of place identity in Wrocław. Place (city) was constructed as national symbol in Lviv, and as an autonomous entity in Wrocław. Some evidence was also obtained that the degree to which place attachment is associated with the higher-order (national) or lower-order (local) identity predicts the amount of ethnic bias in perceptions of the pre-war past of the two cities. The findings are interpreted within the dual-process models of perception, here applied to perception of places. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Place attachment is an affective bond that people establish with specific areas where they prefer to remain and where they feel comfortable and safe. Place identity, however, has been defined as a component of personal identity, a process by which, through interaction with places, people describe themselves in terms of belonging to a specific place. Most research has observed positive correlations between these variables in populations that have maintained ongoing interactions over long periods of time. This work presents two studies in which we compare place attachment to place identity in samples differentiated according to birthplace and length of residence, and the magnitude of these bonds to different places. The results of the first study revealed differences between intensity of attachment and identity depending on place of origin and place assessed. The second study found that identity and attachment tend to coincide in natives, while individuals from other places give higher scores for attachment than for identity. Results from the two studies have enabled us to consider that place attachment develops before place identity, at least in the case of the non-natives. Both studies reveal that bonds are stronger with the city than with the neighbourhood, but that attachment and identity with the island are stronger than either of them. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study examined the relations between place, climate, place attachment and place identity using Breakwell''s four processes model of place identity (e.g. Twigger-Ross, Bonaiuto, and Breakwell. (2003). Identity Theories and Environmental Psychology, 203–233) as a framework. Following this, an influence of high vs. low attachment and urban vs. country(open-air)-person attitude on place (the City of Gothenburg, “Vallgraven”, Sweden) related identity processes was examined. In line with Twigger-Ross and Uzzell (1996) (Place and Identity Processes, 205–220) it was hypothesized that high attachment, together with a congruent place identification, in this case urban-person attitude, would influence significantly more residents’ place-related identity processes than low attachment and a place identification which was not congruent with where they were living, i.e. country(open-air)-person attitude. In addition it was hypothesized, in line with Knez (2003a) (The 5th international conference on urban climate (ICUC-5), September 2003, Lodz, Poland, Vol. 2, (2003a) pp. 69–72) that climate may be one of the meanings they attribute to the place. Empirical evidence on links between place attachment and place identity on urban vs. country(open-air)-person attitude and place identity were shown as well as a significant role of climate in subjects’ conceptions of a place, especially for those considered to be highly attached to their residential area. This latter result presents a challenge to place theory, in general, not taking into account a place''s climate (Knez (2003b). The 5th international conference on urban climate (ICUC-5), September 2003, Lodz, Poland 2 (2003b) 65–68)). Finally, structural equation modelling suggested a model of five place identity process as opposed to Breakwell''s four processes model, and showed a significant link proceeding from residential time to place attachment to place identity. This latter result indicates that prolonging one''s stay at a place intensifies one''s emotional bond to that place which in turn leads that a place becomes more a part of one''s conceptual and extended selves (Neisser (1998). Philosophical Psychology, 1, 35–59), in this context a part of the content of the five place-related identity processes of distinctiveness, referent continuity, congruent continuity, self-esteem and self-efficacy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ageing in place enables older people to remain in familiar places, namely their homes and neighbourhoods, for as long as possible. However, neighbourhood decline and/or personal capacity decreases can threaten people's plans to age in place. Existing studies have paid great attention to creating supportive home environments to alleviate the pressures on older people induced by declining personal competence. However, this neglects the dynamics and the agency of places such as neighbourhoods in people's ageing process. Therefore, the present study examines how neighbourhood-based resources, especially older peoples' place identity, affect their experiences of ageing in declining neighbourhoods in Shenyang, China. A transcript analysis of 43 semi-structured interviews was conducted, showing that older residents from declining neighbourhoods face triple dysfunctions (social, cultural, and structural) due to the retreat of existing social ties, family safety nets, and institutions in various dimensions of their life. They also suffer from physical environmental degradation and residential composition changes in their neighbourhoods. Consequently, they rely on place identity to cope with environmental decline and decreasing personal competence. We found that older people can benefit from the recognition function of place identity, which provides physical and social insideness with their neighbourhoods and helps them recognize resources essential to their wellbeing. Moreover, the mediating change function and the defence function of place identity motivate them to adopt pro-environmental behaviours or to visit their past memories to sustain their sense of continuity and combat various neighbourhood declines. However, place identity and its associated anxiety and defence function also prevent older residents from adapting to the social changes induced by population turnover, and this further hinders them from socialising with migrant renters. This study also explores implications of the results and provides recommendations for policy and further research. • Long-term residence, collective experiences and family history enable older residents to develop place identity towards their declining neighbourhoods. • Older residents rely on place identity to overcome related neighbourhood decay. • The recognition and mediating change functions of place identity stimulate older residents to overcome various neighbourhood declines. • The anxiety and defence function of place identity prevents older residents from adapting to neighbourhood social changes induced by population turnover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite place attachment's prominence within the environmental psychology literature, the scales and items used to measure place attachment vary significantly, hindering the ability of researchers to rally behind a standard measure. These types of discrepancies hamper the ability of researchers to directly compare findings across communities and conduct metanalyses on the antecedents and outcomes of place attachment. Furthermore, scales consisting of more than three items may unnecessarily burden respondents, thus impeding opportunities to add new constructs to surveys so that the precursors and outcomes of place attachment can be better understood. With this in mind, the purpose of this paper is to present and test the cross-cultural reliability and validity of an Abbreviated Place Attachment Scale (APAS) (i.e., three items for place identity and three items for place dependence) across seven samples spanning five data collections and four countries (United States, Cape Verde, Nigeria and Poland) involving residents and visitors. Confirmatory factor analysis reveals that the abbreviated scales perform just as well as their extended parents, and the multi-group confirmatory factor analysis reveals full measurement invariance demonstrating that the APAS is equivalent across cultures. Based on these results, the APAS should be given full attention by place attachment researchers seeking to expand the literature on the understanding of how people connect to places and the implications that these connections have on other important constructs such as quality of life, support for tourism, and place-based conservation efforts or individual environmental behaviors. • Measures of place attachment vary significantly hindering comparing results. • Abbreviated 6-item measure of place attachment compared to previous 12-item measure. • APAS′ psychometric properties found to be as good or better than extended scale's. • Cross-cultural reliability and validity of APAS found across multiple countries. • APAS provides researchers with more room to include other constructs in survey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite increasing interest in the human dimensions of green buildings, connections between green building design and place attachment have received little attention in the theoretical or empirical research. Place attachment is a well-established psychological theory with relevance to environments of varying form and function and could inform green building theory and practice. We therefore review relevant literature to explore the potential for place attachment to develop in, or interact with, occupants' experiences of buildings designed with sustainability in mind. Specifically, we examine possible interrelations between green building design strategies and psychological processes of place attachment (i.e., affect, identity, and dependence) in non-residential buildings. We additionally consider the influential role of personal and cultural factors. In the process of making these theoretical connections, four key green design strategies emerged as most salient to supporting place attachment: 1) biophilic design and opportunities for connection to nature, 2) visible environmentalism, 3) opportunities for pro-environmental behaviors, and 4) indoor environmental quality that supports physiological comfort. These strategies already provide a range of social and ecological benefits, but may additionally -- by enhancing feelings of place attachment -- promote pro-environmental behaviors and general quality of life for occupants within green buildings. The work here seeks to catalyze future empirical research on place attachment processes in green buildings and inform increasingly human-centric approaches to green building design. • Green buildings hold strong potential to support place attachment. • Four key green design strategies are identified that may foster person-place bonds. • Positive affect may be generated by buildings with biophilic design features. • Comfortable indoor environmental conditions may support place dependence. • Place identity may interact with visible sustainable design features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural communities often display strong emotions in response to closures of facilities and services. Research into explaining community responses hardly pays attention to the socio-psychological process of 'loss' of such local facilities, which occurs when place bonds are disrupted. This paper explores how a rural community makes sense of place-change by examining how residents interpret, evaluate and cope with local facility-decline. Three focus group discussions were conducted in Tzummarum, a village in the Netherlands, just after the closure of a local sports hall was announced. A theoretical framework for community coping-responses is used to interpret the empirical results. We find that while the closure of local facilities can result in a disruption of individual place bonds, there is a discernible shared sense of loss based on the social and symbolical meaning that certain facilities have for the village community. This sense of loss can help explain collective coping responses. However, this study found that collective action is only considered for local facilities that foster a sense of community, provided there is enough collective efficacy. • This paper examines how a village community copes with the closure of facilities. • Closure of facilities can disrupt place bonds on a communal or individual level. • There is a shared sense of loss based on the meaning of certain facilities. • Some local facilities are believed to foster a sense of community. • Collective action is considered if there is collective efficacy for that facility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]