Review of the research on attachment to residential area

This review focuses on studies on place attachment (PA), in particular as it relates to residential areas, as viewed from various research fields that draw on an approach from the human side of understanding of “dwelling” behavior, as the whole of our daily activities. First, I classified the definitions and main viewpoints of some studies on PA while discussing their dimensions and important aspects. Next I examined some concrete questionnaire items used in investigating PA in a discussion of PA as experience. I then touched on the relation of PA with place identity. It was found that most definitions of PA had the meaning of “a positive affective bond between individual and the place”, and that the cognitive, behavioral, cultural, and temporal aspects were emphasized, and, moreover, that security and comfort were implied. Furthermore, it was suggested that PA constituted experience mainly as the feeling of unity of self and place as a consequence of a weakened separation between them. Finally, some arguments for the necessity of more research on PA in Japan and expectations toward an examination of the temporal dimensions and qualities of PA were mentioned