|
|
|
| PLACE MEMORY: HOW SPACE PERCEPTION BASE POINTS AFFECT PLACE ATTACHMENT |
| HUANG Xiang1,2, WU Ya-yun1 |
1. Shenzhen Tourism College, Jinan University, Shenzhen 518053, China;
2. Institute of Finance and Trade Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Science, Beijing 100836, China |
|
|
|
|
Abstract There is a phenomenon used to be observed that when some particular space was changed in physical form will significantly affect people's place attachment, like park landscape reconstruction, historical district rebuild, or even a river functionally changed. This paper is trying to explain what's the magic behind this, and how does it work. As we all know, place attachment is composed of place dependence and place identity, which the former is functional attachment and the latter is emotional attachment. This paper is try to study when place attachment is left only as emotional attachment, how will the attached place physically changed affect the consistence of place attachment. 50 people with different ages and professions in Shenzhen were selected as the research samples, which all share the same situation that they all have an attached place somewhere. The results show that: ① space base points' alterations like formation reconstruction, position displacement, color changes will cause the changes of space perception, and then the place attachment will be weakened or interrupted. In late phase of place attachment when functional attachment is gone, place identity as emotional attachment is left and supported by place memory; ② in other way, place memory and place development is a paradox. Sometimes place memory refuse the place to be developed as mentioned above, and sometimes when the development of place carters to people's needs, such as the urge to change poor living situation or to have a new subject, they will turn to accept the physical changes of this exact place and move on; ③ place memory is indentified as childhood memory, campus memory and adult memory, and usually related to recreation activities. In this paper, we also found that the place attached is over 80% related to recreation activities, no matter it is nature form or artificially made. Other 20% of the group is attached to his/her hometown or the first institution they were employed.
|
|
Received: 30 June 2012
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2013, Vol. 28 
