Snapshots of what matters most: using resident-employed photography to articulate attachment to place

• Published in: Society & natural resources Vol. 20; no. 10; pp. 913 - 929
• Main Authors: Beckley, T.M, Stedman, R.C, Wallace, S.M, Ambard, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 01.01.2007
• Subjects: attachment behavior; biophysical attachment; Human behaviour; Narratives; Photography; Place; Residence; resident employed photography; sense of place; sociocultural attachment; Values; Alberta; Newfoundland and Labrador; Canada
• ISSN: 0894-1920; 1521-0723
• DOI: 10.1080/08941920701537007

Sense-of-place research has grown in recent years and has attracted interest from a diverse range of disciplines. Beckley ( 2003 ) suggests that it may be possible to disaggregate persons' attachment to biophysical versus sociocultural aspects of sense of place. Stedman ( 2003 ) and Beckley ( 2003 ) challenge researchers to experiment with new methods for examining the subject. This research addresses the challenges through the use of resident-employed photography. The method was used to elicit sense-of-place values in four communities across Canada. Participants took photographs of things that most attached them to their communities or region. Participants were interviewed about their photographs, and 937 photo-narrative data points were created and analyzed. The analysis involved ascribing photo-narratives to single response categories. Residents distributed their photographs fairly evenly between sociocultural and biophysical dimensions of their communities; however, many attachments involve both sociocultural and biophysical influences.