The relations between natural and civic place attachment and pro-environmental behavior

The relation between place attachment and pro-environmental behavior is unclear. Studies have reported that place attachment is associated both with more and less pro-environmental behavior. To help clarify this, we distinguished two dimensions of place attachment: civic and natural, and explored their respective influences on pro-environmental behavior. A community sample of residents (N 1⁄4 104) from two proximate towns with different environmental reputations reported the strength of their civic and natural place attachment, their performance of various pro-environmental behaviors, and a number of sociodemographic characteristics. Regression analyses revealed that natural, but not civic place attachment predicted pro-environmental behavior when controlling for the town, length of residence, gender, education and age. This demonstrates that research and theory on place attachment should consider its civic and natural dimensions independently. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. The world faces an environmental emergency. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC, 2007) recent report on global warming warns that if we do not drastically reduce carbon dioxide emissions, parts of the world will soon experience water shortages, while others will encounter floods, starvation, and the continued loss of habitats. Pollution from human activities has already poisoned rivers, reduced air quality, and driven away entire species. Although environmental concern has increased over the past several decades, environmental action has not (e.g., Finger, 1994). Thus, one key question is how to encourage pro-environmental behaviors among individuals, including actions that are intended to minimize environmental harm, or improve environmental conditions, such as reducing home energy use, composting, or engaging in more sustainable forms of transportation. The study of place attachment, the bonding that occurs between individuals and their meaningful environments (e.g., Giuliani, 2003; Low & Altman, 1992), may contribute to the understanding of this problem. Place attachment is a multidimensional concept with person, psychological process, and place dimensions (Scannell & Gifford, 2010). The person dimension delineates who is attached, and whether the attachment is based on individually or collectively held meanings. The psychological process dimension describes the affective, cognitive, and behavioral manifestations of the attachment. Typically, individuals who are highly attached to their place All rights reserved. refer to it with positive emotions such as pride and love, often incorporate the place into self-schemas, and express their attachment through proximity-maintaining behaviors. The place dimension includes varying aspects of place including spatial level, degree of specificity, and social or physical features of the place. Surely, one’s connections to a place (or lack thereof) influence one’s willingness to protect it. Ecopsychologists assert that a disconnect from nature is an important cause of proenvironmental inaction, and that regaining a sense of connectedness should realign our values toward pro-environmental stewardship (e.g., Lovelock & Sydney, 1975; Reser, 1995; Roszak, 1992). Others have also speculated that feelings of attachment and connectedness to a place should result in greater efforts to protect it (e.g., Sobel, 2003). However, the empirical evidence surrounding this topic is far from definitive. Place attachment has been linked to environmental perception, concern, and activism (e.g., Bonaiuto, Breakwell, & Cano, 1996; Vorkinn & Riese, 2001). However, whether person-place bonds are associated withmore (Vaske & Kobrin, 2001) or less (Uzzell, Pol, & Badenas, 2002) frequent pro-environmental behavior remains unclear. One reason for this may lie in definitional inconsistencies and differing interpretations of place attachment and related concepts. Furthermore, place attachment is multidimensional, and these dimensions can vary in salience across individuals and places (Hidalgo & Hernández, 2001; Low & Altman, 1992; Scannell & Gifford, 2010). For example, the physical qualities of a place may form the basis of the attachment, such as an attachment to a place with a climate similar to places of one’s childhood (Knez, 2005). L. Scannell, R. Gifford / Journal of Environmental Psychology 30 (2010) 289–297 290 Attachment is also rooted in the social aspects of a place, such as the positive interpersonal relations that occur within it. Thus, a consideration of place attachment as a multidimensional construct may help to clarify its relations to pro-environmental behavior.