Spiraling up: Sense of place with co-creation experiences insights from Crow Island Beach Park, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Researchers highlight that one significant intrinsic motivation for taking part in co-creations is a sense of place. Vice versa, some scholars indicate an enhanced sense of place can be achieved through community participatory strategies and place-making. However, there is a noticeable absence of empirical investigations into this seemingly reciprocal relationship. This study uses the Crow Island Beach Park development in Sri Lanka as a case study to explore the relationship between co-creation experience and the sense of place. Following an exploratory research design, data was collected through in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of sixteen members engaged in the beach park development. Subsequently, thematic and inverted pyramid-based co-occurrence analysis was employed within a qualitative research approach. The findings unveil a reciprocal relationship between the sense of place and the co-creation experience, marked by a spiraling-up dynamic. The findings further indicate variations in participants’ sense of place and co-creation experiences, providing valuable insights for planners, environmental managers and policymakers aiming to utilize active community participation for sensible and sustainable place-making.