Sense of Place, Health and Quality of Life / Edition 1

by Allison Williams, John Eyles

Overview

A significant body of theoretical and empirical studies describes 'sense of place' as an outcome of interconnected psychological, social and environmental processes in relation to physical place(s). Sense of place has been examined, particularly in human geography, in terms of both the character intrinsic to a place as a localized, bounded and material entity, and the sentiments of attachment/detachment that humans experience and express in relation to specific places. Scholars in a wide range of disciplines are increasingly exploring the relationship between place and health, and recently, the field of public health has been encouraged to recognize sense of place as a potential contributing factor to well-being. It is evident that over the last few decades, sense of place has developed into a versatile construct. This important book brings together work related to sense of place and health, broadly defined, from the perspective of a variety of fields and disciplines. It will give the reader an understanding of both the range of applications of this construct within approaches to human health as well as the breadth of research methodologies employed in its investigation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780754673323
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/28/2008
Series:	Geographies of Health Series
Edition description:	1
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Professor John Eyles and Associate Professor Allison Williams are both based at McMaster University, Canada.

Table of Contents

Contents: Preface; Introduction, John Eyles and Allison Williams; A sense of place, a sense of wellbeing, Lily DeMiglio and Allison Williams; Senses of place and emerging social and environmental challenges, Edward Relph; Holistic paradigms of health and place: how beneficial are they to environmental policy and practice?, Ingrid Leman Stefanovic; Qualitative approaches in the investigation of sense of place and health relations, John Eyles; Developing a psychometric scale for measuring sense of place and health: an application of facet design, Allison Williams, Christine Heidebrecht, Lily DeMiglio, John Eyles, David Streiner and Bruce Newbold; The experience of displacement on sense of place and well-being, Lynne C. Manzo; Place, leisure and well-being, Daniel R. Williams and Michael E. Patterson; Sense of place, well-being and migration among young people in Sarajevo, Carles Carreras; Sense of place, and quality of life in post-socialist societies, Marko Krevs; Environment and health: place, sense of place and weight gain in urban areas, Paula Santana and Helen Nogueira; Sense of place, quality of life and (g)local struggles for environmental justice, Michael Buzzelli; In search of the place-identity dividend: using heritage landscapes to create place identity, Gregory Ashworth; Conclusion, Allison Williams and John Eyles; Index.

Editorial Reviews

'This excellent collection of essays by renowned European and North American researchers from a variety of disciplines provides an important step in understanding the links between sense of place and health. Understanding these links is a vitally important part of examining what determines health status and how social and psychological responses to local resources affect quality of life more generally.' Jenny Donovan, University of Bristol, UK 'As a clinical and health services researcher and bioethicist, I am delighted by the publication of this edited volume of essays exploring the psychological dimensions of place and their relationships to health. Contributions by geographers, planners, psychologists and philosophers from North America and Europe make nuanced statements about these relationships that are important for understanding not only health but also appropriate philosophical and ethical stances toward health and quality of life. The essays beautifully capture the wide range of voices required to make sense of these oft neglected dimensions of health.' Ross Upshur, University of Toronto, Canada 'The contributions in this book provide a holistic approach to the current debate on sense of place. Outlining and using a variety of methodologies both quantitative and qualitative this book provided a clear overview of the present research on the relationship between sense of place and well-being and health.' European Spatial Research and Policy

From the Publisher