Human and Envi ronment

4.1 HUMAN AND ENVIRONMENT

Sense of Place

A specific location becomes ‘placeless’ when it lacks an essential ‘sense of place’. This essential factor of space gets emphasised by the authenticity of the human imprint within (Parsa and Torabi 2015, 39). The imprint plays a crucial role in defining our identity and self-preservation. It links people to the surrounding environment via three significant processes of psychological drivers, including identity, attachment, and familiarity (Gifford 2007, 309). Firstly, place identity emphasises the essential relationship between an individual and those places where one lives. It highlights how one gets identified by one’s place and how places restore one’s energy. Secondly, place attachment demonstrates the way people and their environments take care of each other. It focuses on how people act out in constructing the definition of their places. Thirdly, place familiarity consists of place knowledge of which one cognitively obtains while spending time occupying a location. (Gifford 2007, 310) The mentioned displacement threatens those listed psychological drivers (place identity, attachment, and familiarity), leading to alienation, nostalgia, and confusion. Henceforth, developing a “feeling of place” can establish a necessary basis for the individual to re-establish an identity.

A location must offer its occupants a sense of order identity, security, physical suitability, connectedness, and warmth to be called home (Gifford 2007, 257). Home can be figuratively a hideout that offers its users protection, refuge, security, and privacy from the vicissitudes of life (Gifford 2001, 256). ‘Home’ is undeniably vital in the creation of one’s identity. ‘Home’ is the first place where people feel a sense of belonging while offering them the framework to explore the surrounding environment and their position within. Henceforth, it is critical to strive to construct homes that occupants can recognise as ‘home’ reflecting and promoting their genuine self.

Sense of Community and Social Support

The definition of a sense of community consists of psychological terms defined as a person’s sense of belonging to a social structure that is helpful, readily available, and dependable. Gifford (2007, 275) claims that residents who are satisfied with the level of engagement in their society have a stronger sense of community. It is a matter of fact that social contact within a society reduces social isolation and increases the connectivity of a community. On the other hand, decreased interactivity might harm social capital, reducing the sense of belonging and social connection within one’s community. Moreover, this interactivity can be either boosted or stifled depending on how the neighbourhood gets designed. The social qualities of a location can be linked to a sense of community, as can the physical elements of the built environment. A community’s layout plays an essential role in creating place connections and a sense of belonging. According to a study by Gifford (2007, 276), residents in cul-de-sacs had more place attachment and a sense of community than residents of through streets. Because the common property shared by inhabitants of a cul-de-sac or’ home cluster’ can physically “knits the group together” by functioning as a centre (Alexander 1977, 201). Social contact gets encouraged by these public spaces or commonplaces, which helps to foster a sense of community.

Figure 8. Sense of community and social support. From Thao Nguyen Le, by Thao Nguyen Le, 2021. Copyright 2021 by Thao Nguyen Le.