"Guest Editorial Place Attachment during Territorial Development Challenges "

Abstract

Place is a holistic entity defined by meanings, spatial features, and attachments. The richness of meaning is considered in specific spatial and historical/cultural contexts and place, as the object of attachment, is a nurturing space. The articles in this Special Issue discuss how people create places through their diverse experiences, they show what theoretical and empirical information can help understand present attachments to community and places. In addition, these contributions underline that social and economic practices create meanings, validate identities and enable the construction of attachment, as they imply continuity with the past. As such, meanings and intentions, as well as people’s behaviours make up place and attachment to place, especially during territorial development challenges, both in historical time and at present. Out of the two main approaches to study place attachment – one supported by Psychology, with focus on the individuals and their emotions, and the other endorsed by Geography, with focus on place and its meanings – this Special Issue explores the latter, showing that research on the meanings of places should be added to the study of the strength of bonds between people and places in order to understand place attachment and its production.