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The Tel Aviv neighborhood of HaTikva, originally home mostly to Mizrahi Jews, has undergone a considerable demographic shift in recent years. This paper discusses the narratives of Mizrahi longtime residents of the neighborhood, who are uncomfortable with the recent changes. Focusing on a micro-analysis of the stylistic variation in two interviews, the results show that the voiced pharyngeal approximant (ʕ), a linguistic feature strongly associated with Mizrahi identity, is used in the construction of place identity, by reinforcing the links between these speakers' Mizrahi identity and their status as authentic residents of the neighborhood. • Residents of South Tel Aviv are experiencing a rapid change in their neighborhood. • Linguistic resources are utilized to construct an authentic place identity. • (ʕ), a linguistic feature associated with ethnicity, is used to index place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urgent need for climate change adaptation is becoming more pronounced as climate impacts pervade across all scales. To overcome growing constraints on adaptation, research on the social dimensions of adaptation behaviour is of increasing importance. In this respect, there is an expanding body of literature exploring how place attachment influences climate adaptation. However, studies on this relationship have thus far been sporadic and disconnected. We set out to evaluate existing literature with the goal of seeking a comprehensive perspective of current trends and gaps in research practice, and to identify whether place attachment aided or constrained adaptation. A systematic review was undertaken which identified 72 relevant research articles. We quantitatively assessed the research focus of these studies including the type of climate impact and type of adaptation being studied, as well as, study location, methods used and findings. We also conducted a thematic analysis of studies to elicit major emerging links related to attachment and adaptation. Our findings affirm the complex and dynamic nature of this relationship; specifically, we find that effect of place attachment on climate adaptation action are subject to the climate risk perceptions and personal values of the individual, contextual manifestations of climate change impacts, and local sociocultural processes. We identify several gaps in current research, particularly in terms of geography and demography which has implications for equitable climate adaptation. We highlight the need for longitudinal studies, especially from the perspective of successful climate planning and policy and changing environments; and emphasise the importance of incorporating comprehensive insight on place attachment in climate adaptation planning and decision-making processes. • The extent & manner of influence on adaptation depends on social values & perceptions. • If impacted, attachment could lead to opposition or reduced support for adaptation. • Place-based factors that derive attachment should be accounted for in planning & policy. • More studies based in countries in the global south are needed. • Longitudinal studies are necessary to understand effect of changing circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For twenty years, social scientists have used place concepts to understand energy infrastructure siting. Much of this research stemmed from attempts to provide theoretical explanations that avoid pejorative NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard) assumptions about community objections. Despite a burgeoning literature, a comprehensive review of place-related energy infrastructure research is lacking. This paper addresses this gap for the first time by collating and systematically reviewing a corpus of 190 articles published between January 1999 and March 2022, using search terms combining 'energy' and five place concepts (place attachment, sense of place, place identity, identity of a place, place-technology fit). Content analysis revealed the application of place concepts most frequently to wind energy, as well as nuclear power, fossil-fuel extraction and energy distribution; a high number of journal outlets (n = 76); a prevalence of single case study and survey methods; geographical concentration in developed countries, and a high prevalence of female authors. Bibliometric analysis of key words indicated a hub and spoke structure centered on the term place attachment, with low levels of coherence. 8 research clusters were identified comprising disparate technologies, geographical contexts, concepts and methods. Two of the search terms (identity of a place, place-technology fit) had low prevalence. Analysis revealed the application of place concepts to be highly varied, with 15 place concepts identified that are often not the primary focus of research, and sometimes used superficially. To improve coherence, cumulative learning and rigour in future studies, a lexicon of place definitions and specific recommendations are provided. • A corpus of 190 articles draws on place concepts to research energy infrastructure. • This literature spans diverse technology sectors, countries and numerous journals. • Studies on renewable energy, in particular wind energy, are most prevalent. • Eight clusters with weak coherence are identified, indicating a fragmented literature. • Recommendations to improve coherence, cumulative learning and rigour are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how people choose routes in urban environments is essential for effective urban planning. While conventional transportation studies focus on utilitarian decision-making, this research investigates the complex interplay between human-environment interactions and emotional attachments to places, which influence transportation choices. Specifically, we examine the impact of sense of place in pedestrian route choice within a densely populated urban university community. Unlike typical urban settings characterized by clear roads and landmarks, university environments often feature intricate layouts with diffuse pathways, shared spaces, and a lack of clear spatial hierarchies. This complexity challenges conventional spatial knowledge acquisition methods. Individuals navigating such environments tend to rely on socio-sensory wayfinding strategies, developing emotional connections to specific places and routes over time. Consequently, route choices in these contexts may not always be deliberate but rather subconscious and nuanced. Our study focuses on elucidating the impact of the sense of place—a composite of conscious and subconscious perceptions, emotions, and attachments to a location—on daily route decisions. Through structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis, we demonstrate that the sense of place significantly influences route choices within community building complexes, surpassing utilitarian considerations as a primary explanatory factor. These findings underscore the importance of emotional and psychological factors in shaping urban route decisions, offering valuable insights for urban planning and management strategies. • Sense of place's (SoP) impact on route choices through meaningful places. • Case study: complex university campus with growing SoP. • SoP encourages longer routes via meaningful places. • SoP affects walk choice, negative for shortest path, positive for other utilities. • Mobility shapes how we perceive place and influences walking behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted in a traditional mining area in Romania-the Rovinari Carboniferous Basin-from which in 1976 the communist authorities relocated about 800 people, two churches, and a cemetery to a new location in the village of Iași, Gorj County, in order to expand coal mining operations. Using the triangulation method, we gathered data from 139 questionnaires, 30 interviews, and ethnographic observations to highlight the ways in which the traumatic memories of the communist period are evoked today by the displaced population and perceived by the younger generation. Apart from some post-communist memories that cast the communist regime in a positive light, respondents largely condemned the regime, which, by threatening to take away their work, forced them to move to a new location. This relocation had profound implications in respondents' personal and family mentality represented first by the destruction of local cultural property or heritage and later by the appearance of trauma and respondents' implicit attachment to the places they had lost. The history of those times is taught through the intergenerational transmission of memories at home as a place of family identity or at church as the centre of spirituality for the Romanian village. Bringing household items from the old destroyed location to the new location strengthened respondents' postcommunist memory and helped to heal or alleviate their past trauma. However, beyond the differing political considerations expressed by those we interviewed and questioned, the complexity of post-communist memory, whichis tense and nuanced, remains relevant under deeper scrutiny. • 800 people, 248 houses, 2 churches, and a cemetery were displaced and relocated. • House is a true predictor and the key of place attachment and place identity. • Personal stories of place attachment serve as the basis of intergenerational memory. • Domestic artefacts are evidence of the past, an evocation of nostalgic feelings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• LUDs risk resulting in residents struggling to develop place identity/attachment. • Discourses associated with entrepreneurial urbanism can result in image-reality gaps. • Ørestad, Copenhagen failed to become the cosmopolitan metropole it was intended to. • Image-reality gaps resulted in experiences of transition and opposition in Ørestad. This paper explores the lived space of entrepreneurial urbanism in Ørestad, a 1990s mega-project still under development on the edge of Copenhagen. Drawing upon in-depth interviews, interactive map-making and critical discourse analysis, it shows that imaginaries of urban competition, place branding and cosmopolitanism have only superficially been internalized by residents as part of their lived space in Ørestad, even revealing contradictory everyday practices and experiences. Rather than the cosmopolitan metropole and connected city space it was conceived to become, the district is experienced as a disconnected housing satellite without much street life, as a stepping stone to something better by reducing home to exchange value, and as an area with a community based in opposition. A sense of place identity and place attachment does exist for many Ørestaders but it is born out of 'do-it-yourself mentality' and reaction to a sense of ephemerality. The lived space of entrepreneurial urbanism in Ørestad can only partly be understood by what the district is, but much more by what it is not – i.e. by what it lacks from the perspective of its residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the under-researched issues in relation to urban restoration of abandonments is the impact they have on society and the well-being of the population. In this research we analyzed five socio-environmental impacts associated with urban regeneration plans. A total of 1265 individuals participated in this study; 621 resided near an unregenerate derelict site and the other 644 were around a site that was formerly abandoned and urbanistically restored. Structural equation models based on invariance analysis and latent mean analysis were used to control for response bias in the social perception of five impacts: place identity, place dependence, run-down perception, unsafe perception, and environmental stress. Counter intuitive results were obtained in relation to the sense of place: the abandoned site had higher levels of place identity and place dependence than the urbanistically regenerated place. The probability that abandoned places had higher levels of sense of place than regenerated places was close to 98 %. Nevertheless, we obtained statistical evidence that urban regeneration promoted reductions in residents' stress levels and improved run-down perception. We discuss the implications of sense of place for regeneration plans and offer new urban planning strategies according to the analyzed impacts. • This research examines five environmental and social impacts on derelict and urbanistically regenerated sites. • Sense of place is an essential social indicator to consider in the development of urban and landscape regeneration plans. • Abandoned places may have a greater sense of place associated with them when they have historical, moral and welfare attributes. • Stress levels and run-down perception improve significantly when the derelict place is regenerated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The construction of nostalgia is no longer predicated upon the existence of original historical environments. • A cyclical place-making process in an interdisciplinary discourse is revealed by a co-creation model. • The assessment of authenticity should go beyond the subject-object dichotomy in a post-modern society. In order to shape a nostalgic atmosphere, recreating traditional built environments has emerged as a new spatial typology in China's urban development, termed in this paper as "new nostalgic space". Although scholars have extensively discussed this spatial phenomenon from various perspectives, a comprehensive and dialectical understanding has yet to be fully formed, particularly at the level of place-making. Taking Lane 1192 in Shanghai as a case study, this paper employs qualitative research methods to illustrate how different roles shape a nostalgic atmosphere and stimulate emotional resonance, aiming to explore the process, approach, and logic of place-making while discussing the academic debate on authenticity. The findings reveal a dynamic and interactive place-making logic involving four core elements: filtering, construction, landscaping, and imagination. It creates a sense of place through cyclic practice, ultimately resulting in place identity. It demonstrates that beyond materiality, everyday life and experiences equally hold an indispensable role in shaping the authenticity and meanings of places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the differences in place identity between residents of rural and urban communities. Differently from previous research comparing place identity between neighborhoods or countries, our study focuses on the local community type (urban or rural) as a key determinant of place identity. This fills a research gap in environmental social psychology, frequently ignoring the role of community type in shaping people's relationship with their local community. In particular, we analyze to what extent residents of rural communities present greater levels of cognitive, affective and evaluative place identity than their urban counterparts. Based on data from 1153 residents of Spanish rural and urban areas, results reveal that there is no difference between both environments in cognitive place identity. However, residents in rural communities show greater levels of affective and evaluative place identity than city dwellers. In addition, age moderates the influence of community type (urban vs. rural) on affective and evaluative dimensions of place identity. The discussion helps explain how place identity is developed differently in rural and urban locations. The study concludes that these differences are not caused by community size, but by community type and its personal relevance. • Differences in place identity between urban and rural communities are analyzed. • Affective and evaluative place identity are greater in rural areas. • Cognitive place identity does not differ between rural and urban environments. • Age moderates the effect of community type on evaluative and affective place identity. • It is not community size, but community type which shapes place identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communication strategies designed to strengthen individual and community climate action play a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and averting worst-case climate scenarios. However, communicating climate change in a way that motivates action remains a significant challenge. Through two experimental surveys with representative samples of Australian residents (n 1 =723, n 2 =729), we investigated whether climate messages that highlight relevant and iconic places, such as the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), could strengthen individual action on climate change and if so, what messages are most effective in motivating climate-related behaviour. Participants were randomly allocated to receive one of eight messages about climate change and/or the GBR, or a control condition. In Study 1, we found that climate messages centred around the GBR are more effective in strengthening intentions to adopt energy reduction behaviours than generic (non-reef) climate messages when compared to control. However, we find that they are limited in their ability to motivate more impactful civic and social behaviours, including those which seek to influence climate policy support. In Study 2, we found that messages emphasising collective efficacy can enhance message effect and influence the uptake of a broader range of behaviours, both intentions and in situ behaviour. Mediation analysis suggests that this effect was largely driven by emotions related to distress and that place identity and positive emotions did not play a significant role. This research offers an alternative for those looking to expand beyond traditional climate communication strategies and has implications for both theory and practice. [Display omitted] • Centring climate messages around iconic places may promote action. • We conduct two messaging experiments using the Great Barrier Reef as an example. • Reef messages can strengthen behavioural intentions compared to generic messages. • Collective efficacy statements and public-sphere calls to action enhance the effect. • Message effect is largely driven by emotional responses related to distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The ability to remember, recognize and reconstruct places is a key component of episodic autobiographical memory. In this respect, place forms an essential basis for the unfolding of experiences in memory and imagination. The autobiographical memory is seen to contribute to a sense of self and place identity. The aim of this study was to concertedly analyze paintings, autobiographical narrations and places of birth and life of clients under treatment at a psychiatric clinic in Switzerland who were manifesting psychiatric disorders, e.g. depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, personality disorder, substance dependence, and dementia. Each client exhibited distinctive attitudes and approaches towards life characterized by unique personal mental constructs for living in given places of time episodes that worked towards shaping the development of their identities as well as the development of their health. For these clients, place and time function together to leave a mark, a trajectory, that can hinder or help the resolution of a psychiatric condition. Based on six representative cases, we illustrate how each painting, each biographical narration and each interview reveals deeper structures of individual perception, emotions, feelings, coping strategies, and capacities to reflect and identify with place-time trajectories. Based on this analysis, a place-time-identity model has been developed, which emphasizes the importance of narration, the structure of personality, and emotional experiences in the development of the 'relay station' of episodic autobiographical memory, self and autonoetic consciousness: these three elements are not only connected through their embeddedness in time, but also through their embeddedness in place. In this context, place provides an external fundus of memory, capable of supporting humans in healthy recollection and remembering. The process of placing appears to contribute to the creation of self-esteem and identity. This psycho-geographical place-life-time approach is contrasted to phenomenological place-space-time theories of Husserl, Heidegger, Bachelard, and Sloterdijk. Highlights • Episodic autobiographical memory connects through embeddedness in time and place. • Memories of place influence the formation of early and subsequent identity. • Place and time are parts of the self: 'placelessness' changes the self-concept. • Fault lines of personality and socio-cultural aspects determine our life paths. • Neuroscience, phenomenology and time geography enable place identity understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migrants are faced with the task of creating a sense of home in a new context. As migrants grow older in their host countries, they are also making important decisions on where to live out the rest of their lives, making salient the places they attach themselves to. Place attachment, and its subcomponents of place identity and place dependence, are concepts that have been explored in the ageing and migration literature, demonstrating that positive, emotional attachments to places are positively correlated with better health outcomes. Although it has been established that individuals' attachments to places are dynamic, multidimensional and change over the life course, there is a paucity of research exploring the place attachments of migrants as they age using a life course approach. This study adopted a life course approach to investigate how the components of place attachment shifted over time for migrant people in Aotearoa New Zealand as they aged, and to better understand the mechanisms and barriers to establishing a sense of home in a foreign land. We examined the narratives of ten older migrants (65 years or older) who migrated to Aotearoa before the age of 50. Key findings illustrated that all participants had strong place identities (i.e., explicit self-identification and sense of belonging) to their countries of origin before migrating to Aotearoa, all participants developed strong place dependence (i.e., fulfilment of functional needs) to Aotearoa over their life course, but not everyone was able to develop place identity to Aotearoa. Mechanisms such as language, cultural attitudes, and values can both facilitate and prevent attachments to either home or host country. These results uncover how Aotearoa's ageing migrants negotiate their attachments to places over the life course. • Participants had strong place identities to their countries of origin premigration. • Participants developed place dependence to Aotearoa over the lifespan. • Participants negotiate place attachments with significant others (e.g., family). • A life course history approach is needed to fully understand place attachment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many advanced economies, citizens are deeply politically divided on the basis of where they live, and there is growing concern that these divisions are reinforced by place-based resentment — hostility toward place-based out-groups that are perceived to be unfairly advantaged. Drawing on two large-scale surveys of the Canadian public, this paper investigates the size and socio-demographic correlates of place-based resentment in urban, suburban, and rural areas. First, we examine how place resentment varies across all possible combinations of urban, suburban, and rural in-groups and out-groups. Second, we explore if high-resentment individuals in urban, suburban, and rural areas share similar socio-demographic and political characteristics. We then turn to an examination of political implications, investigating how citizens' satisfaction with their elected representatives, and positions on contentious and important policy issues, relate to place resentment. We find that place-based resentment is highly asymmetric: resentment is strongest among rural residents regardless of the target (suburban or urban) of their resentment, whereas urban and suburban residents tend to resent each other more than either resents rural areas. We also find substantial asymmetries in the correlates and political implications of place resentment. High-resentment rural residents tend to be older, more conservative in their attitudes, and less satisfied with democracy, while high-resentment urban resenters are generally younger, higher in income and education, and more progressive in their attitudes and satisfied with democracy. Our findings suggest that place resentment is an important and politically consequential phenomenon across all place types, but that the character of this resentment differs in rural, suburban, and urban places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses a sample drawn from 317 residents (Emiratis and expatriates) of the city of Dubai and a two-step procedure based on structural equation modelling and a conditional process analysis to investigate 1) the direct and/or indirect effects of place dependence and place identity on residents' reactions to mega events; 2) to provide the boundary conditions for these relationships by examining the role of length of residence and gender. The findings reveal the mediating role of place identity in the relationship between place dependence and residents’ reactions to mega events, while there is no evidence of the moderating role of length of residence and gender. The proposed model visualises important interrelations between human-place bonds and how they may be converted into positive and supportive reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identity of a given place arises from a combination of social and cultural characteristics of the related community which reincarnated in physical shapes and forms of the urban locality. Soaring growth of contemporary cities beside recent transformations of traditional urban spaces have been caused some gaps between physical features of urban environments and their cultural identities. This issue, accordingly, supports the need of special attentions to the cultural and social aspects of transforming places under a process of urban design/planning. We provide here an analysis framework with emphasis to the identity of the place from the cultural aspects of the settlement. This technique mainly concerns to identify cultural features of the urban spaces and preserve them during further urban regeneration. To this aim, representative factors of the places identity are hybridized with the characteristic elements of cultural landscape and collected as a matrix of cultural landscapes, CLs. We convinced from the analysis that it may be oversimplification if solely attention to the physical features for improving quality of urban identity whiles it is affected by some nonphysical aspects, as well. Provided matrix of CLs is also implemented for a test case. Some factors of cultural landscape are discovered and the related effects on urban identity of designing place are discussed in micro and macro scales. Analysis highlighted some tangible/intangible characteristics of the studied public urban area which have to be critically considered through further transformation of the place. Accordingly, a preliminary design of the example studying area is suggested as a green linkage space between natural area in countryside and cultural realms in central parts of Mashhad city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism academia has attempted to individually explore the concepts of visiting experience, place identity, narratives, and history museums, but it has rarely delved into the deep and sometimes murky waters of the intimate connection among these notions. Focusing on the Museum of History in present-day identity torn Hong Kong, the current study sheds light on the identitarian and ideological implications visiting this museum has for Hong Kong born-and-raised Millennials. The findings challenge the current understanding of place identity at heritage sites of contested identity by revealing the subtle, sensitive, and fluid connections between individual and official narratives, and also among the investigated concepts. They also raise important critical assumptions about the politics of museography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The environmental features can support place attachment. • Place attachment dimensions were positively associated with walking. • The perceived neighbourhood walkability was a mediator. The urban design features of a location are important for facilitating people's attachment to places. Attachment to particular places, such as residential neighbourhoods, may encourage people to adopt and maintain physical activity routines. Moreover, the ways in which people perceive the built features in their neighbourhood (e.g., neighbourhood walkability) may mediate the relations between place attachment and physical activity behaviour. Therefore, this exploratory study examined the associations between place attachment and neighbourhood-specific physical activity and explored the extent to which perceived neighbourhood walkability mediates these associations. The study included data from 1,800 adults living in Calgary, Canada. Place attachment (including identity and dependence), physical activity, and neighbourhood walkability were self-reported using validated tools. Linear and logistic regression models were applied to estimate the associations between variables. Mediation was assessed using structural equation modelling. Place attachment dimensions were significantly positively associated (p < 0.05) with weekly participation (odds) and time spent walking for transport and recreation. The associations between place attachment and walking for transport were also mediated by perceived neighbourhood walkability. Together, these findings emphasise the crucial role of place attachment, particularly human bonding and relationships with the neighbourhood environment , in supporting physically active lifestyles and promoting public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The number of pedestrian streets, police stops, and decibel level are negatively correlated with sense of place. • The number of street trees was the urban parameter that worst predicted sense of place. • Prior expectations and perceived quality of life do have significant mediating effects on sense of place. • We propose positive and negative feedback theoretical models that optimize the prediction of sense of place. Urban planning design considers sense of place attributed to the environment because it is important to quality of life and influences citizen support for planning proposals. In this paper, the physical and geographic characteristics that increase and decrease levels of sense of place were analyzed. Mediation effects of prior expectations and belief in urban legends attributed to specific environments were controlled for. A total of 1727 residents from 10 different districts of the city of Barcelona participated. Empirical urban parameters were measured for each district (e.g., hectares of parks and rate of streets with noise above 60 dB) and the weight with which they predicted levels of sense of place was objectively quantified. Perceived quality of life and residents' positive expectations of green spaces were measured also. Structural equation modeling (SEM) assessed theory relating green environments to sense of place and tested which urban elements had a detrimental effect. When including the mediating effects of prior expectations and perceived quality of life, urban parameters related to green spaces predicted increases in sense of place between 11% and 40%. Decibels, pedestrian streets, and the number of police arrests predicted systematic reductions in sense of place between 18% and 20%. Accordingly, the authors proposed two urban models of positive and negative feedback on sense of place. Application of these will improve urban planning by enhancing decision making efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, many cities are experiencing many natural disasters and hazards due to climate change, particularly in the Global South. Environmental risks increase acute community vulnerabilities that worsen the effects of these hazards and make a recovery more difficult. However, community resilience can decrease people's vulnerabilities and improve their capacity to cope with and adapt to environmental hazards. It is assumed that place identity, as a cultural resource, can positively affect the resilience of communities. This exploratory survey research, thus, aims to understand the relationship between place identity and community resilience. Data is gathered using a questionnaire survey and analyzed using the principal component analysis. Case studies are two local communities in Isfahan, Iran, the Abbas Abad neighborhood and Barazandeh neighborhood, affected by the drying up of Zayandehrood River's aqueducts. The study results show a positive correlation between place identity and community resilience in the selected communities. The community with a stronger place identity tended to show stronger community resilience than the other. Therefore, it can be concluded that improving place identity might contribute to better community adaptation and recovery in times of slow-onset or sudden environmental disruptions. However, this relationship should not be considered a causal relationship. The present study highlights the role of place identity in community adaptive capacities and helps policymakers better plan to enhance community resilience. Policymakers can use the study's results to empower the communities facing slow-onset environmental disruptions. • Community resilience is essential for dealing with environmental hazards. • We study the linkage between place identity and community resilience. • The case studies are two communities in Iran with different characteristics. • We find a positive correlation between place identity and community resilience. • We propose frameworks for enhancement of place identity and community resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of information technology and the popularization of the internet economy have triggered the transformation of rural livelihoods and social networks, impacting villagers' emotional connections to their places. Taking Beiqishui village, a typical specialized village that produces kiwi fruit, as a case, this study examines how the villagers' economic roles, economic links, and economic rhythms have changed and how these changes are associated with the changes in the emotional connection between humans and places in the context of the internet economy. First, as a new means of livelihood for rural residents, WeChat business has encouraged them to become active economic actors, facilitating the development of their self-worth, family attachment, and place identity. Second, the collective mutual assistance and trust that are established through online economic links have a positive effect on the development of rural communities and the formation of collective identity and a sense of pride. Third, the economic rhythms influenced by WeChat business have made the construction of place identity dynamic. Our study suggests that the construction of place identity cannot be fully understood without considering economic factors, which are fundamental and even decisive in the place identity formation process. As a result of WeChat business, Beiqishui village has transformed into a lively, attractive, and booming area that benefits from digital technologies. • As a new mode of livelihood, WeChat business has reshaped the relationship between humans and place in rural China. • New economic roles, economic links, and economic rhythms led by WeChat business has promoted place identity reconstruction. • Economic factors have significant effects on cultural meaning and identity. • WeChat business has transformed the village into a lively and attractive community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the confusion on the definition of place attachment and its overlap with other related terms in landscape study. Besides a theoretical framework of place attachment was formed to help on the assessment of place attachment. This can help to underpin an understanding of the importance of place attachment in modern urban design processes and to protect such identities to form a better urban environment. Moreover, the paper propose a way to assess the place attachment via modern Virtual Reality technology, in searching for a better way to assess the term, hence helping practitioners to better identify and protect the elements that contribute to place attachment. Its guidance ability on finding place attachment elements in urban development process provides a strong practical value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In depopulating rural areas, one of the main issues is how to deal with the decline of local facilities such as schools, post-offices and shops. It is often feared that closure of a local facility will negatively affect the accessibility of that service and the liveability of the village. This paper examines how villagers experience the loss of a small local supermarket. Building on the concept of sense of place, we examine how people's attitude towards place-change relates to the functional, social, symbolic and emotional meanings a supermarket can have for individuals and for a community. A survey (n = 312) was conducted shortly before the closure of the supermarket in Ulrum, a depopulating village in the rural North of the Netherlands. The results show that negative evaluation of closure can be explained by individual emotional attachment to the supermarket and by the general symbolic value of a supermarket for a village. Contradictory to popular belief, perceptions of decreasing accessibility or diminishing liveability do not exemplify why many residents react negatively to the closure of the supermarket. In the Dutch rural context, access is only an issue for a relatively small group of people consisting mostly of elderly and less mobile citizens, while large groups of villagers may react negatively to closure of rural facilities. We propose that in different international contexts people may experience senses of loss and can react negatively to facility-decline due to the social, symbolic and emotional meaning of rural facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

‘Sense of place’ has become a central concept in the analysis of the cultural, personal and mental health risks posed by a changing climate. However, such place-related understandings of mental health and wellbeing remain largely limited to Indigenous health contexts. In this article we argue the relevance of sense of place in understanding the mental health impacts of climate change on family farmers who retain close living and working relationships to the land. We conducted a community-based qualitative case study located in the Western Australian Wheatbelt - a region that has experienced some of the most significant climate change in Australia. A three-part interview series was conducted with 22 family farmers between February 2013 and April 2014, and 15 interviews with various agricultural and mental health key informants. The research findings reveal that recently observed patterns of climate change have exacerbated farmers' worries about the weather, undermined notions of self-identity, and contributed to cumulative and chronic forms of place-based distress, culminating in heightened perceived risk of depression and suicide. The research findings highlight the tightly coupled ecosystem health-human health relationships that exist for family farmers living in regions affected by climate change, as well as the significance of farmers' place-based attachments and identities for their mental health and wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contemporary farming context across western countries is experiencing a period of dramatic demographic, social, environmental and economic change. This is having a significant impact particularly in countries such as Australia with a long culture of generational family farming sustained by patrilineal farm succession. Generational farmers maintain strong attachment and unique relationships with place as farms are both homes and sites of production. Retirement involves a reconfiguration of place identity and in the context of change, farming couples contemplating retirement now face unprecedented challenges as they age, with the younger generation reluctant to follow. Drawing on Australian data, this article utilises place identity theory to examine the role of place identity in older farming couples' retirement considerations. Findings are drawn from a 'small story' narrative study of six older generational farming couples, all still actively farming the land. A small story approach permits examination of the ways couples position retirement and how place identity affects couples' agency as they contemplate retirement. The collection of data across two time points, 18 months apart, enabled couples to reflect on how they individually and collectively viewed retirement over time. Findings suggest that the uni-dimensionality of farming men's place identities may be marginalising women as couples navigate the prospect of retirement. The implications of this study are broader than the Australian context as the family farming model remains the most prevalent form of agricultural enterprise across the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the rapid globalization growth, a tourism environment sets standardization to compete to be more attractive. Hence, it requires the peculiarity of tourism objects which indicates place identity. This research aims to examine distinctiveness as one of place identity principle. It focuses on natural environment in Karo Regency, North Sumatera, Indonesia. A mixed-use method was conducted by investigating the variables, i.e. landmark, uniqueness, particular character, and different perception. The result shows that the attractiveness of natural scenery, culture, and traditional buildings embed the distinctivenessprinciplewhile uniqueness and particular character require appropriate strategies in enhancing and supporting natural-based tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social commitment to the environment, ecological attitudes and sense of place are essential indicators for the development of public policies aimed at environmental sustainability. Natural disasters are major events that affect people's well-being and perception of their environment. The objective of this research was to test the effects and consequences of the eruption of the volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma on 502 participants during a 10-month follow up. Of the total sample, 281 were direct victims of the volcanic eruptions and 221 participants formed the control group. Multiple analyses of variance were applied with repeated measures and by distinguishing the victim group and the control group participants. Three quadratic functions were also fitted relating the time variable to the following indicators: ecological attitudes, sense of place and perceived anxiety levels. In addition, the degree of commitment to nature was measured. The results found that this natural disaster predicted reductions in pro-ecological attitudes with an overall weight of 30.8% (43.9% for the victim group only) and 26.3% (36.8% for the victim group only) in sense of place. On the other hand, when analyzing stress levels, the natural disaster was able to explain 21.2% overall (92.8% for the victim group only) of the increases. The quadratic functions indicated that reductions and increases tended to stabilize two months after the natural disaster. We discuss the theorizing implicit in these effects and the implications they have for the development of public policies for environmental sustainability. • The psychosocial impact of the La Palma volcano eruption disaster and its implications for public policies were analyzed. • Natural disasters alter and damage the pro-ecological attitudes and sense of place of the affected victims. • We identify paradoxical effects: levels of commitment to nature tend to increase as the natural disaster progresses. • Paradoxical effects can be explained by social learning theories based on the victims' cognitive-belief systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Social environments still matter in the rapid market transition context of China. • Commodity housing residents do not necessarily have stronger place attachment. • Social ties are the strongest predictor of place identity. • Housing conditions are the strongest predictor of place dependence. • Place attachment should be understood from both identity and dependence. Place attachment, as an important emotional and functional bond between people and place, has received extensive attention in the early-21st century. This trend is especially evident in China, where rapid market transitions have fundamentally changed urban neighborhoods. Using a survey of residents in Guangzhou, China, remote sensing imagery, geographic information system (GIS) techniques, and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), this study investigates the role of physical and social environments in place attachment. Results indicate that commodity housing residents generally do not necessarily have strong place attachment. However, higher quality physical and social environments do contribute to stronger place attachment. Specifically, perceived housing conditions, social ties, sense of security, and lower floor area ratio (FAR) are positively associated with place identity, while perceived housing conditions, perceived neighborhood environment, social ties, lower FAR, and built environment quality are positively associated with place dependence. Social ties are the strongest predictor of place identity while housing conditions are the strongest predictor of place dependence. We conclude that social environments still matter as social and physical environments play different roles in place identity and place dependence. Based on the findings, we advocate that urban (re)development and housing policies should shift the focus from large-scale demolitions to micro-scale dwelling improvements; and in addition to objective measures, subjective evaluation by residents should also be used to evaluate urban (re)development projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wider social, cultural, and geographical acceptance of creative class theory has inspired city planners to appeal to creative workers. While creative class literature assumes that creative workers develop similar conceptions of place regardless of geographic location, local context, or how individuals identify with and develop attachment to place, a comprehensive analysis of the ways people experience space in relation to creative class theory is lacking. Using a phenomenographic research approach and a framework grounded in theories of place, this study explores conceptions of place among 28 creative workers in Edmonton, Canada. Using a series of interviews and cultural probe exercises designed to provoke creative and emotional responses, this study reveals that, contrary to the literature, participants describe strong attachment to place, a sense of belonging, and a commitment and responsibility to the city, which they describe as tolerant and diverse, with flexible class boundaries. Participants are found to possess both strong and weak ties to social capital, with place not being a means of maintaining weak ties to several social circles. The study concludes that planning policy needs to give due consideration to the genius loci of a place in order to understand how its residents and socioeconomic groups conceive and understand the world around them. Thus, these findings trouble the generalizability of creative class theory, while highlighting the importance and significance of the locale in terms of applying broad policy goals and objectives. • Creative workers' perception of place is locale specific. • Edmonton's creative workers possess strong attachment and commitment to place. • Place is not a means to maintain weak ties to social capital. • How weak ties are accessed contradict Florida's claims in the literature. • Study casts doubt on the relevance of Florida's creative capital theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recycling has emerged as a critical global environmental and economic issue. Recycling helps achieve primary sustainability goals, including better waste management and climate change mitigation. This study tackles the research gap on how place identity and natural bonding affect recycling decision-making. The research investigates citizens' recycling intention by incorporating place identity and natural bonding into an extended norm activation model (NAM). The study proposes that openness to change, awareness of consequences, environmental concern, personal norms, and attitudes are responsible for place identity and natural bonding's indirect effect on citizens' recycling intention. Based on 815 survey responses, hypothetical claims were examined using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results revealed that place identity and natural bonding indirectly affect citizens' recycling intention through personal norms, awareness of consequences, and attitudes. Place identity also indirectly affects citizens' recycling intention, mediated by openness to change and environmental concern. The expanded NAM helps comprehend place identity and natural bonding's role in citizens' recycling intention. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The renewal of the urban waterfronts has become a major focus of attention for politicians and decision makers in the city’s management programs. The recognition of the patterns that define the waterfronts’ identity is essential to select new strategies of intervention for the environmental recovery. In order to create adequate environments for everyday life within a sustainable development, new links between human senses, human perception and design need to be created. Within this wide approach, the landscape and the soundscape play a significant role and can become a key driving force in the implementation of the changes. New techniques have to be tested to identify the sonic and visual parameters capable to explain the specificity of a waterfront. With this purpose, an artificial neural network (ANN) was developed, and the relative importance of the input variables was evaluated. The collected database was also analysed by multiple linear regression (MLR) to compare the outcomes of both models. The urban waterfront of Naples (Italy) was chosen as case study. The results obtained show that the performance of the neural network is better than the one of the linear regression (rANN = 0.949, rMLR = 0.639). The interpretation of the relative importance method is also quite satisfactory in the ANN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism theory suggests mechanisms of place are critical in the construction of tourism environments. However, contradictory place theory has created confusion as to exactly what these mechanisms are and how they affect perceived environment. Literature identifies place attachment and place identity as primary mechanisms in the construction of tourist relationships with tourist environments. An interpretive methodology is used to explore these mechanisms during a festival experience, and thematically analyzed unstructured interviews show identity and attachment do influence attendees' place-based perceptions. Within the festival context, environments become either creations of the festival or exist independently of them. The latter allows realistic place identity to form, resulting in consonance between environmental expectations and reality. The former creates abstract identities resulting in unrealistic expectations and weak/no immediate attachment to the festival environment. A Model of Festival Place provides continuity-based festival recommendations allowing for clearer theoretical and practical understanding across tourism events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we set out to develop new ways to identify and document local cultural elements in sites that are undergoing transformation. By drawing on the insights of cultural studies, screenwriting, scenography and service design, we build a multidisciplinary design framework for mapping culture that pays attention to the ways in which intangible cultural resources of a place could be brought into interaction with its users. As our empirical case, we focus on the Abattoir, a set of derelict but attractive slaughterhouse buildings that are in the process of being converted into commercial and civic premises. All in all, the paper suggests that this kind of multidisciplinary design framework can be used to improve the audience reception and engagement of cultural mapping activities. From the perspective of service design, it is possible to analyse how the audience experiences the results of mapping, and whether this experience could be improved. Screenwriting and scenography, for their part, can be used to express the mapping results in an impressive narrative and site-specific form, supported by affective, visual and spatial elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During 1965–1974 one million dwellings were built in Sweden, most of these financed by state housing loans and available for renting. Although most of these 850,000 apartments are considered decently maintained about 300,000 are considered in need of thorough refurbishment. This is a great opportunity for technological innovations, contributing to energy saving and climate mitigation on a broad scale. However, many of these estates have also been associated with spatial segregation, social exclusion and related challenges. The empirical focus of this article is on an attempt by a municipal housing company to approach the residents of a multi-family housing estate with a redevelopment scheme expressing a will to combine social, ecological and economic qualities under the brand “My Green Neighbourhood”. Drawing upon data describing the initial phase and the dialogue activities undertaken during the planning phase, and the residents’ reactions the study is conceptually framed by an eclectic approach inspired by the spatial triad of Lefebvre, Relph's notion of place identity, and Arnstein's ladder of citizen participation, including references to some related, recent works. Considering a common picture of municipal, multi-family housing in Sweden as a “success story” the case study is of relevance in the wider context of coping with the challenges of sustainable urban development. It is concluded that projects like this have a potential to decrease energy consumption substantially, as well as contributing to long-term financially sound management by housing companies. However, when it comes to social aspects of sustainability the picture becomes more complicated. First, most sitting tenants would have preferred a change in terms of proper maintenance and modest improvements. Second, most of them will not return to their apartments after rehabilitation, partly due to rising rents. Third, the position of the tenants was not very strong, instead planning rather had a tokenist bias. Fourth, the local government's social mix strategy has to be questioned on theoretical as well as empirical grounds. Despite these and other critical observations, My Green Neighbourhood should not be disregarded as just one more in a never-ending parade of low impact ad hoc projects. Up-scaling the experience of this and similar running projects would represent a substantial contribution to urban sustainable development, at least in terms of energy saving. Finally, to understand the complexities of a redevelopment planning process it is concluded that decisionmakers have to be very observant of the different time perspectives linked to the structural positions and interests of the various stakeholders, for example a building company's desire to make short time profits through major reconstruction, sitting tenants’ demand for sustainable maintenance and cautious refurbishment, local politicianś wish to create another social mix in the area, and a public housing company's attempt to reconcile the views of different actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable urban storm-water management is a key policy of the European Union. Increasing populations, densification and global climate change cause major challenges for the management of urban run-off waters. Small urban aquatic ecosystems (ponds, brooks, wetlands) are important, because they support human health and well-being through water regulation, mitigating urban run-off waters and providing recreational benefits. Ecosystem functions, which arise from interactions between biotic and abiotic processes and which benefit society, are called ecosystem services. The ecosystem service concept can be useful in estimating the impacts of land-use and resource management on ecosystem functions, and to support decision-making. However, many researchers claim that measuring or valuing ecosystem services in land-use planning may fail to recognize intangible or non-monetary values. We studied a local environmental conflict related to a storm-water management plan in Helsinki, Finland. By using integrated value mapping of ecosystem services, we assigned socio-cultural values of local blue-green infrastructure, and evaluated how these values could be taken into account at the early stage in green area planning. Stakeholders (locals, managers and politicians) expressed a total of 47 perceived values related to the urban brook and the public park. We divided these values into four types: (1) use and experience, (2) existence, (3) symbolic, and (4) bequest and moral. We show great differences between the meanings and values of locals, managers and politicians. Managers expressed negative values towards the park, while locals more commonly expressed symbolic values. Exhaustive value mapping could help to identify mutual values and understand disagreements between stakeholders. We introduced a model for a transdisciplinary adaptive planning by using integrated value mapping within ecosystem service concept. Often local protests towards development projects or the management of green areas are seen in a negative light by considering them as NIMBY. Instead of dismissing plurality of meanings and values that emerge from strong place identity, we call for the sustainable management of place-attached values as part of a techno-economic planning strategy of urban ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Place identity is a moot notion which encompasses a large heterogeneous set of components. In this paper, we propose the use of abstraction from the real world, Place entity , to describe and model the place identity concept. Place entity can be deemed as a mosaic of physical and social settings of a real place, or of a place representation (virtual or literary). We represented the Place entity as a hierarchical structure and we tried using the Resource Description Framework (RDF) to emulate the place identity process. A preliminary structure of the Place entity is illustrated in this paper, and its components described and analyzed. Considering the huge amount of data available on the Web, we are persuaded that Place entity may be a useful framework for modeling the place dynamics in a moment of great social change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims were to replicate initial findings of an environmental preference/environment type “congruence effect” on judgements of perceived restoration potential (Wilkie and Stavridou, 2013. Urban For. Urban Greening, 12, 163) and explore if this congruence influenced restoration outcomes. University students ( N = 120) categorized themselves as ‘country’ or ‘city’ persons to indicate environmental preference (nature, urban), viewed an imagery slideshow of one environment (nature, urban green space, urban street), and completed pre-post imagery measures of directed attention, mood, and fatigue. They also rated environments like those in the slideshow for perceived restoration potential and then completed a place identity measure in reference to their preferred environment. The use of the dichotomous environmental preference variable as an indicator of place identity was supported with equal, moderate-to-high levels of place identity reported by both groups. An environment type main effect indicated better positive/negative mood and fatigue outcomes for those in the nature condition compared to the urban street condition. Urban green space exposure resulted in a better improvement to negative mood compared to urban street exposure. Nature and urban green spaces provided equivalent changes in direct attention, mood, and fatigue. There was no environment type effect on directed attention or perceived restoration potential. The environmental preference/environment type congruence findings replicated the previously reported effect on perceived restoration potential (Wilkie and Stavridou, 2013. Urban For. Urban Greening, 12, 163). The highest ratings were after exposure to congruent nature environments and the lowest from exposure to urban street imagery incongruent with a nature preference. A pattern of both significant and non-significant results across outcomes indicated the congruence effect was more evident in those who preferred nature; urban preferences resulted in similar benefits outcomes across environments. These findings support growing evidence urban green spaces provide a range of benefits; and suggest person-place concepts such as place identity should also be considered in restoration research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major limitation of most urban and environmental studies dealing with place attachment and place identity is that they are mostly restricted to neighborhood. There is a general assumption that neighborhood is the fundamental category of analysis to study attachment and identity. However, except for a few studies focusing on environments such as dwellings, other spatial scales still need to be explored. This gap exists despite the fact that the intensity of attachment and identity bonds established with place are supposedly affected by the size of the environment. In order to explore differences in the relation between the two bonds and the size of the environment, we carried out a study in neighborhoods and cities. We further investigated possible differences in place attachment and place identity between residents who were born in the city and residents originally from other cities. The sample involved 208 participants (54.8% natives and 45.2% from other cities). Results showed a higher level of attachment and identity to city than to neighborhood. Place attachment was higher in large and small-sized cities than in medium-sized. Place identity, on the other hand, was greater in large rather than in small and medium-sized cities. In addition, a positive correlation was found between the two bonds and the length of residence in the city. However, having been born in the city or not did not affect the intensity of bonds with place. Implications for urban planning are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accompanying the dissolution of the USSR and the formation of new nation states in the 1990s, nearly half of Mongolian Kazakhs migrated from their adopted home of Mongolia to the imagined homeland of Kazakhstan. By 2000, a sizable percentage returned to Mongolia. In explaining their decisions to stay in or to return to Mongolia, the Kazakhs we interviewed cite several culturally specific factors. Place identities, as expressed through cultural elements of religiosity, kinship ties, and language versatility, tie Mongolian Kazakhs strongly to western Mongolia while meta-narratives about diaspora and homeland prescribe identity with Kazakhstan. Utilizing life history interviews, participant observation, and questionnaire data we argue that Mongolian Kazakhs actively employ narratives of their cultural history to re-create and re-establish place identities in Mongolia and ultimately re-imagine Mongolian-Kazakh community and identity. These recreated place identities have emerged among Mongolian-Kazakhs who chose to remain immobile or return migrated from the ‘homeland’ of Kazakhstan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on people-place relations, specifically place attachment and place identity, is beginning to make an important contribution to understanding human responses to climate change. However, to date there has been a dearth of research on how place attachments at multiple scales, particularly the global, and individual level ideological beliefs combine to influence climate change attitudes and opinions. To address these gaps, survey data was collected from a representative sample of Australian citizens ( N = 1147), capturing attachments at neighbourhood, city/town, state/territory, country and global scales, as well as a range of climate change belief and individual difference measures. Results show the importance of the interplay between national and global place attachments. Individuals expressing stronger global than national attachments were more likely to attribute climate change to anthropogenic causes, to oppose hierarchy-enhancing myths that legitimize climate inaction, and to perceive positive economic impacts arising from climate change responses, in comparison to individuals indicating stronger national over global place attachments. Individuals with stronger global than national attachments were more likely to be female, younger, and self-identify as having no religion, to be more likely to vote Green and to be characterized by significantly lower levels of right wing authoritarian and social dominance beliefs. Right wing authoritarian and social dominance beliefs mediated the effects of place attachments upon climate change skepticism. Explanations for the findings and implications for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change adaptation frameworks often emphasize tangible community vulnerabilities, but typically fail to recognize that healthy, vibrant, and resilient communities are also based on many factors that are experiential in nature. In response to the continued undervaluation of such factors, scholars are adopting place identity and place attachment as a way to explore the risks of climate change in a more holistic manner. This study draws on Churchill, Manitoba's unique relationship with climate change to present an early examination of place-based climate change adaptation. Results from a community survey suggest that citizens’ sensitivity to local climate impacts is associated most strongly with their connection to the social meanings that are embedded in the natural landscape. Results also indicate that this place driven sensitivity does not necessarily lead to an increase in actions to adapt to climate change. It is suggested that inaction in the face of climate change can persist, even when citizens’ have a strong connection to place, particularly because dominant climate change communications fail to produce a socially salient message. By linking place-based adaptation research to an emerging value-based frame for climate adaptation, this study presents new pathways to help legitimize local values in climate change adaptation processes, and to create frames for communication that are more conducive to fostering collective action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Observers from a variety of disciplines agree that informal settlements account for the majority of housing in many cities of the global South. Urban informal settlements, usually defined by certain criteria such as self-build housing, sub-standard services, and residents’ low incomes, are often seen as problematic, due to associations with poverty, irregularity and marginalisation. In particular, despite years of research and policy, gaps in urban theory and limited understandings of urban informal settlements mean that they are often treated as outside ‘normal’ urban considerations, with material effects for residents including discrimination, eviction and displacement. In response to these considerations, this article uses a place-making approach to explore the spatial, social and cultural construction of place in this context, in order to unsettle some of the assumptions underlying discursive constructions of informal settlements, and how these relate to spatial and social marginalisation. Research was carried out using a qualitative, ethnographic methodology in two case study neighbourhoods in Xalapa, Mexico. Mexico offers fertile ground to explore these issues. Despite an extensive land tenure regularisation programme, at least 60 per cent of urban dwellers live in colonias populares , neighbourhoods with informal characteristics. The research found that local discourses reveal complex and ambivalent views of colonias populares , which both reproduce and undermine marginalising tendencies relating to ‘informality’. A focus on residents’ own place-making activities hints at prospects for rethinking urban informal settlements. By capturing the messy, dynamic and contextualised processes that construct urban informal settlements as places , the analytical lens of place-making offers a view of the multiple influences which frame them. Informed by perspectives from critical social geography which seek to capture the ‘ordinary’ nature of cities, this article suggests imagining urban informal settlements differently, in order to re-evaluate their potential contribution to the city as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike formal ‘heritage landscapes’, the role of unmanaged, ‘everyday’ rural landscapes in perpetuating social memories and reiterating certain conceptualisations of place has been relatively overlooked within the rural studies literature. Using the case study of Askam-in-Furness, a former mining village in Cumbria, this paper addresses this gap by exploring how industrial remains within the landscape act as prompts for the recollection of both personal and social place-related memories. In doing so, it also extends some of the learning from urban-centred studies that have explored the affective ability of industrial ruins to bring memories of past people and places into the present. I demonstrate how vestiges of Askam's mining past have become incorporated into local people's experiences of the everyday landscape and, as such, play an important role in understandings of place and temporality. These processes are considered in some depth and their implications for the future management of landscape and ‘heritage’ are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Destinations associated with pop culture phenomena, such as destinations depicted in books and films, often experience increased numbers of visitors as well as strengthened and changed destination images. The pop culture phenomenon the Twilight Saga (book and film series) is in this paper used as an example to explore how a pop culture phenomenon can affect destinations, and how destinations manage this type of tourism. Case studies in Forks, WA, in the USA, Volterra, Montepulciano in Italy and British Columbia in Canada illustrate different tourism destination strategies. Forks has, for example, developed experiences based on a fictionally constructed reality connected to Twilight, which has reimagined the destination, and, thus, fabricated the authenticity of the place. Volterra and Montepulciano, on the other hand, have experienced a Twilight Saga tourism development characterised by deliberations regarding the immersion of Twilight Saga elements into their cultural heritage which has resulted in a strategy best described as guarding the authenticity of their respective destinations. Finally, British Columbia has had no strategy and exhibits little interest in Twilight tourism. The priority of the destination has been to satisfy the needs of film producers. The study elaborates on different paths of pop culture tourism development, i.e. it is not always advisable to fully exploit the potential that a pop cultural phenomenon can bring to a destination. Which strategy should be used by a particular destination depends on the unique character of the place and its perceived need for tourism development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study (N =120) explored whether congruence between environmental preference and environment type influenced judgments of likelihood for directed attention restoration. The study differs from previous research by operationally defining preference as a representation of place identity from environmental psychology rather than as the attractiveness of the location. Preference was also treated as an influence on judgments of restoration potential instead of a consequence of directed attention fatigue. Persons experiencing images congruent with their environmental preference were expected to rate similar locations highest in restoration potential compared to incongruent images; however, this was not fully supported. Those with a nature preference perceived congruent environments as the most potentially restorative, but this was higher than, rather than equal to, the restoration expectations of those in the urban congruent condition. As expected, nature preferences influenced judgments of urban settings; this incongruence was rated least restorative. Persons with an urban preference perceived both nature and urban environments equal in restoration potential; this may explain circumstances when environment choice appears inconsistent to cognitive restoration goals. Water quality in the settings also influenced restoration judgments; pleasant waterscapes resulted in the best expectations. The findings illustrate the potential contribution of place identity from environmental psychology to the study of attention restoration outcomes and further support the growing literature endorsing the positive potential of urban settings. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper explores the ways that two rural counties are marketed, both as locations for enterprise and for tourist appeal. Secondary data sources and expert interviews provide the basis for a comparison of approaches in each case. To analyse marketing communication from the Cornish and Northumbrian tourism and regional development agencies, the Interaction Model of Communication and principles underpinning integrated marketing communications (IMC) are used. The research evaluates the fit of the marketing rhetoric against the perceptions and lived experiences of samples of business owners drawn from each county. A particular focus is apportioned to in-migrant business owners as they have had perceptions of their destination both before and after moving. It is discovered that social factors are highly significant, meaning that place marketers must engage with local communities as well as their external target audiences. This deeper understanding of the ways in which perceptions of place identity and reputation influence decision-making and communication offerings by local marketers, is a valuable insight for the way marketing is undertaken in, and of, rural areas. Beyond marketing, the findings demonstrate the significance of inter-relationships between social and economic influences in the rural economy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the past, the quarter was a vital factor of identification for city dwellers throughout Iran, especially for women because they felt more secure and protected in the quarter in which they resided. However, by evaluating the function of the quarter over time, it is found that the concept of the quarter is fading. Unfortunately, the new rearrangement of the city was not capable of solving newly raised problems in cities due to the imbalance between old and new concepts regarding place. In this study, the survey research method and, specifically, an applied questionnaire are adopted. It is necessary to find a pattern that would save the concept of the quarter in the face of the modernism that prevails today. To improve the existing situation, establishing places where women feel comfortable is of the essence. This measure could combine women’s physical and mental function and their contribution to community life on a larger scale. City life would promote the quarter-oriented life, with all of its privileges, which could enhance the sense of attachment to a specific quarter for the self-identity and satisfaction of women. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Two decades ago, an article was published in Global Environmental Change proposing the importance of place attachments, at local and global scales, for understanding human responses to climate change (Feitelson, 1991). Despite concluding that ‘studies of individual''s attachment to place may provide important inputs for strategies to enhance the prospects for sharing the globe’ (p. 406, 1991), the article remains overlooked. This article takes up and extends Feitelson''s argument for more systematic research on place attachments and climate change. First, the paper critically reviews interdisciplinary literature on place attachment and the related concept of place identity, drawing on scholarship in human geography, environmental and social psychology. The review identifies a lack of cross-disciplinary dialogue, as well as several limitations to the ways that scalar aspects have been researched. Second, climate change research, encompassing adaptation, mitigation and communication that has incorporated place related attachments and identities is critically reviewed; in particular, emerging research on the role of ‘psychological distance’ is critiqued. The article concludes with five recommendations for future research: to capture place attachments and identities at global as well as local scales; to integrate qualitative and quantitative methods that capture constructions of place as well as intensity of attachments and identifications; to investigate links between attachments, identities and collective actions, particular ‘NIMBY’ resistance to adaptation and mitigation strategies; to apply greater precision when investigating spatial frames of risk communication; and to investigate links between global attachments and identities, environmental worldviews and climate change engagement. Finally, the implications of such research for evaluating area-based climate interventions are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Many coastal communities have strong links to fishing that span generations where fishing is a way of life that goes beyond the means to earning a living. Fishing''s influence is not confined to those activities that take place at sea, but spills over onto land to create a particular identity and sense of place in coastal towns inherently linked to fishing. Using Hastings in south-east England, with Britain''s largest beach-launched fleet, as a case study, this paper considers how marine fishing contributes to place-making. Through an examination of the physical environment and semi-structured interviews, the study found that fishers have deep attachments to the fishing beach, called the Stade, which also defines their identity as individuals and as a fishing community. Non-fishers also value the contribution that fishing makes to the character of the town and its importance for related industries such as tourism. A deeper understanding of the attachments that fishers and non-fishers form with fishing places is needed to inform both local planning and regeneration strategies and, more broadly, fisheries and marine policy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aim of this review is to bring the phenomenological sense of place approach together with current results from neuroscience. We searched in neuroscientific literature for ten dimensions which were beforehand identified to be important in a phenomenological sense of place/place identity model: behaviour, body, emotion, attention, perception, memory, orientation, spirituality, meaning/value and culture/sociality. Neuroscience has identified many neurobiological correlates of phenomenological observations concerning sense of place. The human brain comprises specific and specialised structures and processes to perceive, memorise, link, assess and use spatial information. Specific parts (hippocampus, entorhinal, parahippocampal and parietal cortex), subregions (parahippocampal place area, lingual landmark area), and cells (place cells, grid cells, border cells, head direction cells) have been identified, their specific function could be understood and their interaction traced. Neuroscience has provided evidence that place constitutes a distinct dimension in neuronal processing. This reinforces the phenomenological argumentation of human geography and environmental psychology. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The idea of sustainability is based on the need to preserve the natural resources which already exist, so earth could provide them for the future generations. If it is valid for environmental resources, it should also be apply to the maintenance of place identity which plays a direct key role in shaping both individual and community identity. When the typical features of places are preserved, their peculiarity is highlighted, as well as the relationship between the human being and their living environment. Such a heritage, enhancing the individual development in relation to the place features, can be an important life anchor left for future generations as a part of their own history and tradition, especially now, in the historical period we are living in, where relationships are characterized by high mobility and virtualization. The experience acquired in Comacchio (FE), where a Project of Airworthiness for its historical centre was presented few years ago, can be an example of intervention to retrieve the local identity. This project intended a recuperation of the fundamental relationship between land and water, typical of human settlements, which interventions in the 60s have severely jeopardized, compromising place characterization and, subsequently, the identity formation of population. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]