Metatheoretical moments in place attachment research: Seeking clarity in diversity [Chapter 1]

Abstract

Over fifty years of progress in place attachment research has produced many important insights as well as many competing senses of place attachment as a theoretical construct. Place constructs range from fairly specific terms such as place dependence and place identity to more general terms such as rootedness and sense of place, which all attempt to describe some aspect of place experience and attachment. These constructs are often used interchangeably, which adds to the confusion resulting from different and contested place definitions and relationships (Lewicka, 2011; Relph, 2008). Consequently, the literature abounds with expressions of concern for the apparent lack of theoretical coherence (Hernández, Hidalgo, & Ruiz, 2014). However, as Patterson and Williams (2005) have argued, such consternation over the state of conceptual development in place attachment research represents a flawed quest for unity given the underlying diversity of the many research programs involved, which are often marked by very different substantive goals and conflicting ontological, epistemological, and axiological commitments.

Citation

Williams, Daniel R.; Miller, Brett Alan. 2020. Metatheoretical moments in place attachment research: Seeking clarity in diversity [Chapter 1]. In: Manzo, Lynne C.; Devine-Wright, Patrick. Place attachment: Advances in theory, methods and applications. Routledge. p. 13-28.