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

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 more difficult.

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 resources.

*Water Quality - Science, Assessments and Policy*

for attributes of a place.

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

*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,

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

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

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

that place attachment is higher for more repetitive users of the area.

have a longer time of residence, and own their homes [24].

**24**

to a place.

Applications of sense of place findings are primarily at a localized level but provide insights about the relative social value of different places. To increase the application of sense of place in environmental management, social data will need to be collected on a broader scale with more consistent means of data collection such as the use of standardized sense of place scales for use across locations. One promising advancement has been an increase in applying spatial techniques in place-based research (e.g., [37–39]). These techniques connect survey or interview data to places and landscapes which allows for the incorporation of spatially defined ecological data to analyze relationships with sense of place.

Beckley [4] calls for research that identifies the environmental attributes for which people develop place attachment; however, a big limitation in the use of sense of place, or many other place-based social indicators, for water quality assessment is the lack of localized biophysical water quality data. Place-based values are site specific and are not always generalizable past that location as testing and monitoring methods are not always consistent. Without corresponding localized water quality data—either perceptions or biophysical measurements—we may be able to capture the social value for that place as a whole but not for its environmental attributes. In the case of water quality valuation, this means that we are limited in our ability to explain changes in the social value for sense of place resulting from changes in water quality due to gaps in our biophysical monitoring and understanding.
