Sense of place. The term sense of place describes characteristics of a particular place that make it special and unique in its own right as well as the human relationship to a particular place in which they have an authentic sense of attachment and belonging. How a sense of place develops and evolves informs how people interact with their environment. Given the opportunity, children create a strong bond with the places they inhabit through direct experiences. Such ‘primal landscapes’ of one’s youth can become a part of a person’s identity, informing their relationship with subsequent places later in life and creating a greater propensity for continuing to cultivate a sense of place. The extent to which children are able to create a sense of place is strongly mediated by the influences of family as well as community and cultural norms.
Research on the relationship between sense of place and PEB recognizes that it may be possible to harness an individual’s attachment to and affect towards a place in order to influence her or his environmental behavior. Numerous studies have found place attachment to be an important antecedent to environmental awareness, pro-environmental attitudes, and PEB, with higher levels of place attachment being associated with more PEB. The affective or emotional connection between people and place is also well documented, as is the positive relationship between place affect and PEB. For example, in a study by Ramkisson, Smith, and Weilerd (2013), place affect was the strongest predictor of both low effort and high effort pro-environmental behavioral intentions.
Research on the relationship between sense of place and PEB recognizes that it may be possible to harness an individual’s attachment to and affect towards a place in order to influence her or his environmental behavior. Numerous studies have found place attachment to be an important antecedent to environmental awareness, pro-environmental attitudes, and PEB, with higher levels of place attachment being associated with more PEB. The affective or emotional connection between people and place is also well documented, as is the positive relationship between place affect and PEB. For example, in a study by Ramkisson, Smith, and Weilerd (2013), place affect was the strongest predictor of both low effort and high effort pro-environmental behavioral intentions.
Sense of Place Team
The core Sense of Place Matters community of practice team is comprised of four members of the 2015 class of the Prescott College PhD Program in Sustainability Education. Each of us actively explored the relationships between sense of place and sustainability in our academic research and continue to focus on this area in our professional work: fostering social and ecological well-being by connecting families with nearby nature (Chiara); nomadic perceptions of climate change around the Mekong headwaters in Tibet (Meg); the experiences of women practicing regenerative agriculture (Clare); and engagement with community food systems and place-based storytelling (Jeremy).
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