Love of place: Conceptual framework and template for measuring the contributory and unitive affection towards a place

IF 2.8 2区社会学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL

International Journal of Intercultural Relations Pub Date : 2025-05-10 DOI:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2025.102203

Victor Counted , Matthew T. Lee , Tim Lomas , Richard Cowden , Kelly-Ann Allen , Jayanti Basu , Daniel Laidler , Clay Routledge , David Seamon , Tyler J. VanderWeele

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This paper examines the construct of ‘love of place’—a deep connection with a significant place (unitive love) and a desire to see it flourish (contributory love), which is distinct from and extends beyond traditional notions of place attachment, nostalgia, or belonging that are common in the literature on place. Drawing from interdisciplinary perspectives, including environmental psychology, urban studies, and cultural geography, we explore how individuals form deep affections to places that shape their admiration, care, and a sense of reverence or affection for a significant place. Using the Delphi method, a panel of experts and scholars with expertise on love, place, or the intersection between the two formed the basis for the thematic analysis, which helped refine the construct across seven core dimensions: identity, emotional attachment, biophilic connection, sacred spaces, communal harmony, and heritage. We operationalized each dimension according to unitive and contributory domains, emphasizing how this framing of love might foster personal and collective flourishing. Our findings highlight how environmental changes,in some cases leading to solastalgia, disrupt the spatial affections associated with some expressions or manifestations of love of place. Unlike related constructs, the contributory aspect of love of place involves a desire to contribute to the good of a place, akin to how people express unconditional love for individuals. We argue that a key difference lies in the nature of the affections involved. Love of place invokes deeper emotional and existential elements, as well as aspects beyond emotions, while an emotion like place attachment, for example, may focus more on functionality and familiarity. Our proposed framework of love of place offers a new lens for exploring place-related experiences and could inform future research on spatial affection and environmental stewardship.

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对地方的热爱：衡量对一个地方的贡献性和统一性情感的概念框架和模板

本文研究了“地方之爱”的结构——与一个重要的地方（统一的爱）的深刻联系，以及看到它蓬勃发展的愿望（贡献的爱），这与传统的地方依恋、怀旧或归属感的概念不同，并且超越了这些概念，这些概念在地方文学中很常见。从跨学科的角度出发，包括环境心理学、城市研究和文化地理学，我们探索了个体如何形成对地方的深刻情感，这些情感塑造了他们对一个重要地方的钦佩、关心和敬畏或感情。利用德尔菲法，一组专家和学者在爱、地点或两者之间的交集方面具有专业知识，形成了主题分析的基础，这有助于在七个核心维度上完善结构：身份、情感依恋、亲生物联系、神圣空间、社区和谐和遗产。我们根据统一和贡献领域对每个维度进行操作，强调这种爱的框架如何促进个人和集体的繁荣。我们的研究结果强调了环境的变化是如何在某些情况下导致太阳痛，破坏与对地方的爱的某些表达或表现相关的空间情感的。与相关的构念不同，对地方的爱的贡献性方面涉及到为一个地方的利益做出贡献的愿望，类似于人们如何表达对个人无条件的爱。我们认为，关键的区别在于所涉及的情感的性质。对地方的爱唤起了更深层次的情感和存在元素，以及情感之外的方面，而像地方依恋这样的情感，例如，可能更关注功能和熟悉度。我们提出的地方之爱框架为探索与地方相关的体验提供了一个新的视角，并可以为未来的空间情感和环境管理研究提供信息。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Intercultural Relations Multiple-

CiteScore

4.30

自引率

14.30%

发文量

122

期刊介绍： IJIR is dedicated to advancing knowledge and understanding of theory, practice, and research in intergroup relations. The contents encompass theoretical developments, field-based evaluations of training techniques, empirical discussions of cultural similarities and differences, and critical descriptions of new training approaches. Papers selected for publication in IJIR are judged to increase our understanding of intergroup tensions and harmony. Issue-oriented and cross-discipline discussion is encouraged. The highest priority is given to manuscripts that join theory, practice, and field research design. By theory, we mean conceptual schemes focused on the nature of cultural differences and similarities.