Sense shaping place: repositioning the role of sense of place in social-ecological systems from a bioregional planning viewpoint

Abstract

Dynamic landscape change affects and is affected by human attitudes. The effect of pattern on process has been investigated mainly in landscape ecological sciences, focusing on whether and how the human influence on spatial organization of landscape creates stable, functioning ecosystems. Humans have been treated as an independent, separate entity despite embedding their values, perception and attitudes when delineating a place. Equally, the ecological imperative expressed through operational models of conservation planning changes the physical organization of landscape in such a way that it affects public connection to landscape and influences views and attitudes towards ecosystem governance. A more comprehensive understanding is needed of these two phenomena, addressing the linkages between ecosystem conservation and how people respond to dynamic change. Therefore we employ ‘sense of place’ as a broad concept that is assumed to capture the tripartite construct of place attachment, place identity and place dependence rather than articulating the constructs into distinct individual elements. This should include an assessment of how people shape their responsiveness to place through a bioregional planning approach. This paper assessed literature across disciplines - geography, sociology, environmental ethic, psychology - published between 1995 and 2012 with emphasis on the attitudinal dimension of sense of place in planning-based activities. A conceptual framework is proposed, with the intention of exploring the linkages of social and ecological systems through a ‘sense of place’ concept in order to understand the community effect on, and response to, conservation planning initiatives. This provides a new insight for a collaborative bioregional planning process to reveal whether and how sense of place empowers communities by mobilizing stewardship that directs actions towards environmental policies, and how this in turn shapes ecosystem functioning that enhances the experience of place.