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topophilia |
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A term coined by Yi-Fu Tuan (1974) in his book by the same title to refer to \'the affective bond between people and place …\' (1974, p. 4; cf. sense of place). He argues that this bond may vary greatly in intensity from individual to individual and that there is cultural variation in its expression. And yet there is also a biological component of attachment to place. Topophilia often takes the form of an aestheticizing of a place or landscape. This suggests that the aesthetic is a major way in which many people relate to their environment. Another major form of topophilia is attachment to home place which can vary in scale from the nation to the home. Tuan suggests that such attachment can be based upon memories, or pride of ownership or creation. Topophilia, therefore, is not only a response to place but actively produces places for people. The term is associated with the humanistic geography of the 1970s and with qualitative and phenomenological research. It was contrasted to the supposed alienation produced by many modern environments that induced placelessness. In this work, attachment to place and the aesthetic were rarely seen as anything but benign and admirable qualities to be encouraged. While interest continues in attachment to place, it now takes a rather different form. Current researchers are more likely to speak of place-based identity and to an identity politics, both positive and negative, which is based upon attachment to place (Jackson and Penrose, 1993). Likewise researchers have shown the dark side of national attachment and its celebration in the landscape (Johnson, 1995). In addition the class and gender biases of an aesthetic appreciation of place have been scrutinized (Mitchell, 1996; Rose, 1993) (see gender and geography). (JSD)
References Jack son, P. and Penrose, J., eds, 1993: Constructions of place, race and nation. London: UCL Press. Johnson, N. 1995: Cast in stone: monuments, geography and nationalism. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 13: 51-66. Mitchell, D. 1996: The lie of the land: migrant workers and the California landscape. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Rose, G. 1993: Feminism and geography: the limits of geographical knowledge. Cambridge: Polity. Tuan, Y.-F. 1974: Topophilia: a study of environmental perception, attitudes, and values. Englewood Cliff, NJ: Prentice-Hall. |
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