**3. The components of sense of place**

*Water Quality - Science, Assessments and Policy*

for use in water quality social assessments.

to the people who inhabit and visit them.

**2. Sense of place**

Sense of place has significant potential as an indicator of the social value of different locations and their environmental attributes. In this chapter, we focus on using sense of place to capture values related to water quality and connecting this sense of place value with biophysical water quality metrics and other social indicators. To date, sense of place assessments have focused on water quality have been conducted in only a few places and most do not link to specific biophysical metrics. We highlight the utility of sense of place as an indicator of the relative importance of different sites and its potential for assessing water quality in conjunction with other social and biophysical data. First, we review the literature on sense of place and its historical application and findings. We then describe the few existing applications of sense of place in the context of environmental attributes, including water quality. This chapter ends with a call for researchers to use sense of place as a cultural ecosystem service indicator and we present a proposed sense of place scale

Sense of place analyses are mechanisms for articulating the social value of a geographical area. Specifically, "sense of place" is a social theory that connects an individual's meaning and attachment for a specific geographical place with the attributes of that place such as amenities, site characteristics, and environmental quality [2]. Sense of place can be a useful tool for quantifying and characterizing the social value of water quality as coastal and freshwater places are more than just their environmental attributes. These places provide important meaning and value

In the application of sense of place, "place" is generally a specific geography that is defined based on political or natural boundaries or other special features [3]. Place is, importantly, identified in this context as not just a stage for social interactions but as a critical component of those interactions [4]. For example, one coastal place may be a neighborhood access point to a small estuary that is primarily used for launching kayaks or exploring tidepools. Another coastal place might be a larger beach visited by residents from multiple states that is operated by a state as a park

Sense of place provides a useful indicator of social value, as the components of sense of place have been connected to increased community involvement as well as environmental protection responses, concern, intentions, and behavior (e.g., [5–11]). For example, Lukacs and Ardoin [12] connected sense of place with participation and motivation for engagement with local watershed management groups in Appalachia. Similarly, sense of place attitudes have been connected with behaviors such as opposition to new renewable energy development and natural protected areas, which were seen as threats to the autonomy and opportunities of the local residents [1, 13]. As the concept of sense of place inherently recognizes humans as a component of the ecosystem, it helps bridge the gap between scientific research and environmental decision making by elucidating some of the social value of environmental protection [14]. For example, in a Nebraska river watershed effort, Davenport and Anderson [15] developed a place-meanings framework that can be used by managers to better understand the complexities behind contentious issues. The bulk of sense of place research has focused on individual-level attitudes toward a particular geographical area, but there is also a body of work connecting broader sociocultural values and perspectives to more general geographical constructs. Put more simply, an individual's interaction with a specific place does not exist in a vacuum separate from the broader geography or society. Larger

and offers full amenities such parking, restrooms, and lifeguards.

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Sense of place can be considered broadly as an overall measure and can be investigated through several subcomponents—most commonly place dependence, place identity, and place attachment (see **Figure 1**). Relationships with a site because of its functional provision of particular resources that support activities (e.g., waves for surfing, clarity for diving, bacteria-free access for swimming, or scenic vistas for viewing) are described as *place dependence* [22]. A person with high place dependence would ascribe high importance on the availability of a specific condition at a site relative to other sites [23]. Place dependence has been investigated in several

#### **Figure 1.**

*Sense of place. Sense of place is often discussed in terms of three subcomponents: place dependence, place identity, and place attachment.*

studies of various types of recreation areas and was found to increase with perceived familiarity with a park [23], and with length of residence and education [24].

Several studies have investigated hypotheses that sense of place (e.g., often place dependence, specifically) is different for various types of users but have not always found consistent differences [2]. For example, Bricker and Kerstetter [25] found that, for whitewater recreationists, how particularly specialized recreational users were described in terms of equipment, skills, and activity frequency did not affect place dependence, although it did influence place identity. When applying sense of place metrics to water quality assessments, degree of specialization is important because the acceptable type of recreation may vary considerably for different water quality conditions. For example, someone may still be willing to go for a walk on a beach that is closed to swimming because of bacterial contamination but would not be willing to go diving or swimming. Specialization also matters when connecting the social value of a place to economic values, as people tend to have different values depending on the type of recreational use, and users' individual attributes (e.g., more or less avid, residents or visitors) affect their values for attributes of a place.

*Place identity* can be described as the emotional counterpart to place dependence. Instead of measuring the dependence on a place for its resources to support an activity or livelihood, place identity captures the dependence on the place for constructing one's self-identity [2, 16]. The specific place builds symbolic importance for an individual's emotions and self-identification [26]. For example, people with high place identity for water areas might express sentiments like "I'm an ocean person," or "Water is a part of who I am." Higher place identity has been identified in those who are more familiar with a recreational site [23]; in those who have a higher degree of recreational specialization [25]; or in those who live in rural areas, have a longer time of residence, and own their homes [24].

The most studied of the main sub-components of sense of place is *place attachment*. In part this is because, out of the components, it has the broadest breadth of meanings [2, 27]. In some fields and research efforts, place attachment and sense of place are virtually synonymous [23]. In other applications, particularly in recreation-based work, place attachment is a subcomponent of sense of place that captures the emotional bond with a place or how important a place is to someone beyond the resource or identity dependences. Place attachment is rooted in Tuan's [28] seminal work on topophilia which focuses on the connection of an individual to a place.

Past studies have shown that local environmental perceptions, as well as the number of local social relationships, increase place attachment [8]. Someone with high attachment may have a lot of fond memories of visiting a place or consider themselves bonded with a location. There is a range of findings associated with place attachment to natural areas. Some researchers have found that place attachment to lands or sites is higher for locals (e.g., [1]). Others (e.g., [29]) have found that place attachment is higher for more repetitive users of the area.

A number of researchers (e.g., [5, 15, 20, 30]) have argued the importance of in sense of place is not just the strength of these three sub-components, but also the overall meanings an individual ascribes to a location. These place meanings are often captured through complementary quantitative/qualitative studies or standalone qualitative investigations into people's values, significance, and descriptions of the place [30]. A place may hold diverse meanings for different individuals, such as a recreationist at a site versus an adjacent property owner. For example, in the Midwest, Mullendore et al. [31] argue that farmers' sense of place values have not been captured in most sense of place studies. They explain that most sense of place studies have targeted recreational use in parks, wilderness, or other natural areas

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resources.

*Sense of Place and Water Quality: Applying Sense of Place Metrics to Better Understand…*

rather than exploring place values for working landscapes, which have different meanings associated with them. Place meanings can also have management implications. Jacobs and Buijs [32] found that attitudes toward water-level and restoration management interventions depended on the stakeholders' place meanings for

While these three components are often talked about in terms of contributing to overall sense of place attitudes, there are not always clear-cut boundaries among them, and a number of researchers have identified varying relationships and interactions among them. For example, Kyle et al. [33] found conflicting effects between place identity and dependence for social and environmental conditions on the Appalachian Trail despite a moderate positive correlation of place identity and dependence. They found that respondents with higher place identity were more likely to see social and environmental conditions as problematic while the opposite was true for those with high place dependence. For Indiana farmers, Mullendore et al. [31] looked at the relationship between sense of place and willingness to adopt specific conservation behaviors in a working landscape (related to nutrient pollution in waters). They found the magnitude of the overall sense of place scale did not affect conservation adoption, but place attachment and place identity individu-

Application of sense of place to policy questions is relatively new and there have been mixed findings about its utility for informing environmental management [2]. This may have resulted from sense of place studies not being conducted using consistent metrics or methods and the findings have also not always been consistent across places and studies. Researchers are increasingly applying similar quantitative scale questions, most particularly the scales developed by Jorgensen and Stedman [26] and Williams and Vaske [23]. Qualitative investigations of sense of place follow consistent themes investigating place attachment, dependence, identity, and meanings; however, because of the inherent nature of place-based work, these quantitative and qualitative questions often need to be tweaked to be site- or useappropriate. This can make broader interpretation and application of the findings

One example is the connection between recreationists and sense of place. A number of studies have found positive relationships between recreation and sense of place values. In several recreation studies (e.g. [25, 33–35]), recreationists did not have particularly high attachment to a place. Further, research that applies mixed qualitative and quantitative methods may help to tease out the reasons for these differences. A high sense of place also does not necessarily translate to actions. Rudestam [36] found a strong sense of place for waters in the Willamette River Basin among water users in their professional capacity (agriculture-related, fisheries-related, recreational outfitters), as well as those involved in agencies and watershed councils. However, that attachment did not motivate intentions for personal sacrifices. For example, interview participants still talked about clearcutting their lands for high timber prices or anglers being unhappy with management actions that would limit their catch. These results point to the importance of using sense of place values along with other social measures, as well as biophysical measures. Although social attitudes and values are complex and subjective, a better understanding of these attitudes and values, including sense of place, could enable better connections between communities and management and conservation of

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.91480*

**4. Policy application of sense of place**

the area.

ally did.

more difficult.

*Sense of Place and Water Quality: Applying Sense of Place Metrics to Better Understand… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.91480*

rather than exploring place values for working landscapes, which have different meanings associated with them. Place meanings can also have management implications. Jacobs and Buijs [32] found that attitudes toward water-level and restoration management interventions depended on the stakeholders' place meanings for the area.

While these three components are often talked about in terms of contributing to overall sense of place attitudes, there are not always clear-cut boundaries among them, and a number of researchers have identified varying relationships and interactions among them. For example, Kyle et al. [33] found conflicting effects between place identity and dependence for social and environmental conditions on the Appalachian Trail despite a moderate positive correlation of place identity and dependence. They found that respondents with higher place identity were more likely to see social and environmental conditions as problematic while the opposite was true for those with high place dependence. For Indiana farmers, Mullendore et al. [31] looked at the relationship between sense of place and willingness to adopt specific conservation behaviors in a working landscape (related to nutrient pollution in waters). They found the magnitude of the overall sense of place scale did not affect conservation adoption, but place attachment and place identity individually did.
