Attachment to urban natural areas: Effects of environmental experience.

Urban natural areas are a precious resource for urban residents. Changes to such areas, including those that result from design and management decisions, can have unintended consequences. Unfortunately, little is known about the attachment people have for these natural settings. This study explored the relationships between place attachment and both environmental experience and environmental attributes. To understand these relationships, 328 park users (including neighbors, visitors, volunteers, and staff) were asked about their attachment, preference, use, environmental knowledge, and attitudes toward management for three urban natural areas in Ann Arbor, Michigan. A variety of approaches, including photographs and verbal items, were used to tap the multiple aspects of the attachment concept. The results showed that attachment is indeed not a unitary notion, having different manifestations related to different patterns of experience. Both place-specific attachment and conceptual attachment were identified; the former was generally held by neighbors and recreational users, while the latter was held by volunteers, staff, and those with a high degree of natural areas knowledge. Each of these forms of attachment was also associated with a distinctive perspective of preferred management strategies. Those with a conceptual attachment supported management that promotes native species, while those whose attachment was place dependent favored other management options, including refined landscaping as well as minimal management. Environmental characteristics of urban natural areas also affected attachment. These relationships were complex; river areas and prairies showed strongly different degrees of attachment depending on the site. Wilder areas were more appreciated by those who are engaged in nature-centered activities or restoration as opposed to nearby residents or others whose contact with these areas is more passive. The study showed that the expert's vision of what is appropriate within a natural area may differ from those of neighbors and users. Such differences in attachment can readily become a source of conflict. If, however, attachment is recognized as a multi-faceted and far-reaching component of people's relationship to a place, such conflicts can be mitigated. In particular, public participation is essential to ensure that design and management decisions can be responsive to a wide range of viewpoints.PhDCommunication and the ArtsLandscape architecturePsychologySocial SciencesSocial psychologyUrban planningUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/130817/2/9811177.pd