Place, Sense of Place, and Presence

Recreating real places – as distinct from virtual spaces or environments – using virtual reality technology raises a series of significant challenges. Fortunately there is a large body of existing research into the experience of place which might reasonably contribute to our understanding of the task. This paper reviews key aspects of the 'place' literature, relates them to the concept of presence, and then illustrates their application in the context of virtual reality. We conclude that some modification of existing theories of sense of place is necessary for this context and outline proposals for further work.