Reimagining Place Identity: Understanding the Lived Experiences of Shifting Place Identities

Abstract

The role of place and how a person perceives a place are critical to constructing, maintaining, and expressing a person's identity. Therefore, changes to place identity have the potential to alter a person's identity and attachment to place. The concept of place is integral to several disciplines. However, despite calls for a deeper exploration of place in the field of consumer research, the conceptualisation of place identity has been inconsistent in that discipline. This research aimed to understand the local lived experiences of shifting place identities owing to newcomers moving into an area. It explored three interrelated questions: 1) What is place identity? 2) How do locals experience shifting place identities? and 3) What role does place identity play in constructing individual identity? Conceptualisations of place identity from different disciplines were integrated to develop a working definition of place identity, and primary research was conducted in Kawerau, a small town in New Zealand. This case study consisted of two interview phases over two years, involving thirty-four participants. The findings revealed that place identity is an ongoing process, influenced by time, people and other places of influence. Locals rejected what they perceived to be the forced imposition of place identity by external influences and, instead, used identity narratives of the past in the present to mould the future identity of the place. Although the findings indicated that, in smaller towns, acculturation with newcomers could seem more prominent, an influx of newcomers is merely one, and not the primary, factor attributed to changes in place identity. From a theoretical perspective, an integrated definition of place identity is presented, that incorporates the multiple factors that simultaneously influence a place's identity. The research also suggests the methodological value of empowering participants to share their stories using multimodal cognitive deep-maps. The findings also demonstrate the practical applicability of understanding place and identity as essential precursors to developing place marketing and development strategies.