Sense of Place - A Tool to Assist the Meaningful Engagement of Communities

Axford J¹*, Hockings M²*

1. NRSM, University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, Australia

This study used ‘sense of place’ as a research tool for gathering a greater understanding of the relationship between a community and their local protected area system, Brisbane Forest Park. To establish an indication of the community’s relative degree of sense of place, we considered and measured both the strength (intensity) and orientation (focus) of sense of place. We developed a new method to measure both the strength and orientation of sense of place that considers and measures the components constituting sense of place, independent of one another, utilizing qualitative data collected in in-depth semi-structured interviews.

Exploring both the strength and orientation of an individual’s sense of place provides a way of determining the desired nature of community involvement in the management of the Park. It was found that the stronger an individuals sense of place, the greater their place dependence and commitment, and the greater their desire to be involved in management in a more substantial way. Analysing the strength and orientation of sense of place illustrated that even within the relatively small groups there is diversity in how individual’s perceive and feel about area, and how they want to be involved in management. It is felt that the type of information revealed in this study is invaluable to the Parks management body if they are to successfully engage the community (in its diversity) in meaningful ways. This paper will present the findings of this research and discuss its greater application to protected area management.

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