In contemporary debates on space, the validity of &amp / #8216 / physical space&amp / #8217 / as an indispensable category of human existence is widely questioned on the basis of the claim that the relevant interval of analysis has shifted from &amp / #8216 / space&amp / #8217 / to &amp / #8216 / time&amp / #8217 / , thanks to the technological innovations enabling the speed of present-day telecommunications. The apparent primacy of mobility of deterritorialized commodities, signs, meanings, and identities, in the contemporary society, adds new dimensions to the traumatic experience of ephemerality, in spatial and temporal categories. Through the claims declaring, the dissolution of the dichotomy between urban and rural, and redefinition of the relevant dichotomy between the &amp / #8216 / space of places&amp / #8217 / and the &amp / #8216 / space of flows&amp / #8217 / in recent theoretical efforts / we attempt to trace how the notion of &amp / #8216 / place&amp / #8217 / could be revalidated and reconstituted with reference to processes of contemporary globalization. The study examines the new paths for a constructive definition of &amp / #8216 / place&amp / #8217 / , which are opened up by the crisis in locating and representing temporal and spatial categories both physically and mentally.

Culinary tourism can contribute to the economic development of many rural communities. Creating competitive advantage for a rural community by establishing a culinary cluster requires a strategy designed to leverage the economic, cultural and environmental qualities of a place in an attractive setting and within reach of interested markets. Accordingly, culinary tourism development occurs in places with a ‘local milieu’ that possesses a concentration (spatial agglomeration) of local culinary-related products and services produced by their clustered production of a number of inter-connected firms and service providers. This can attract visitors, new residents and investments and lead to more sustainable economic outcomes that increase the quality of life of residents. To take full advantage of such possibilities, a strategy for partnership and collaboration among various stakeholders involved in culinary tourism is required. This study provides a conceptual foundation for culinary tourism as a part of the creative food economy through place branding. It analyzes the formation of culinary clusters in place-based rural community development. A culinary cluster results from innovation in the production and consumption of local food. The research began with a review and assessment of literature on culinary tourism, economic geography and business/management that led to the definition of concepts that were combined in the creation of a conceptual model based on modification of Porter’s (1990) clustering model. The model consists of ‘four interdependent determinants’ and ‘four facilitators’ that influence the creation of a culinary cluster, and that require attention in building a creative food economy and an environmentally friendly taste of a place as a brand. A ‘terroir’ contributes to the formation of a successful culinary cluster. Tourism and agriculture are leading sectors in this process. Four broad elements specified in the model (‘environmentally friendly movement’, ‘leadership’, ‘stakeholder collaboration’ and ‘communication & information flows’) are the challenges that must be met for the successful transformation of a ‘terroir’ into a creative and environmentally friendly tourism destination that provides the taste of a place and, eventually, contributes to the global green movement. The creation of the model is an important conceptual contribution of the study. The model is used in a variety of ways. First, it was used to guide the collection of information in field investigations of two selected case study sites in the province of Ontario, Canada (Savour Stratford and SAVOUR Muskoka). Second, it was used to structure the qualitative analyses in each case study. Third, it guided comparison of the case studies where it was also used as an evaluative tool to suggest what is working well and less well in the study clusters. It was also used prescriptively to suggest what elements require further attention to strengthen the performance of the clusters. The study focuses on the relatively new concepts of a creative food economy, environmentally friendly culinary tourism and place branding in the formation of a culinary cluster in place-based rural community development. These themes are obviously interrelated, but have not been explored together previously; and thus, the study provides conceptual coherence for addressing their relationships. The findings of the comparative case study suggest that the transformation of a ‘terroir’ into a taste of a place through place branding is based upon the identification of the strengths of a place through inventory of the culinary-related core resources, and the leading and supporting assets (e.g., hard factors of natural environment and soft factors of cultural heritage). Since these will be different from place to place, one should expect different outcomes as the comparative case study demonstrates. Success will depend upon the use of culinary-related resources, based on local things and knowledge, leadership, and stakeholder involvement through collaboration and partnership, to create a uniquely appealing identity and image (place brand). Thus, a synergistic relationship can be established between the primary sector (agriculture) and service sector (tourism) through innovative entrepreneurial activities. The study makes important contributions both conceptually and empirically by creating a model that addresses the conversion of ‘terroir’ into a creative and environmentally friendly tourism place, by demonstrating the utility of the model through application to two cases in a comparative format; and practically, by directing attention to items that need careful consideration if synergistic relationships are to be established between agriculture and tourism through the development of culinary clusters as part of place-based rural community development.

Culinary tourism can contribute to the economic development of many rural communities. Creating competitive advantage for a rural community by establishing a culinary cluster requires a strategy designed to leverage the economic, cultural and environmental qualities of a place in an attractive setting and within reach of interested markets. Accordingly, culinary tourism development occurs in places with a ‘local milieu’ that possesses a concentration (spatial agglomeration) of local culinary-related products and services produced by their clustered production of a number of inter-connected firms and service providers. This can attract visitors, new residents and investments and lead to more sustainable economic outcomes that increase the quality of life of residents. To take full advantage of such possibilities, a strategy for partnership and collaboration among various stakeholders involved in culinary tourism is required. This study provides a conceptual foundation for culinary tourism as a part of the creative food economy through place branding. It analyzes the formation of culinary clusters in place-based rural community development. A culinary cluster results from innovation in the production and consumption of local food. The research began with a review and assessment of literature on culinary tourism, economic geography and business/management that led to the definition of concepts that were combined in the creation of a conceptual model based on modification of Porter’s (1990) clustering model. The model consists of ‘four interdependent determinants’ and ‘four facilitators’ that influence the creation of a culinary cluster, and that require attention in building a creative food economy and an environmentally friendly taste of a place as a brand. A ‘terroir’ contributes to the formation of a successful culinary cluster. Tourism and agriculture are leading sectors in this process. Four broad elements specified in the model (‘environmentally friendly movement’, ‘leadership’, ‘stakeholder collaboration’ and ‘communication & information flows’) are the challenges that must be met for the successful transformation of a ‘terroir’ into a creative and environmentally friendly tourism destination that provides the taste of a place and, eventually, contributes to the global green movement. The creation of the model is an important conceptual contribution of the study. The model is used in a variety of ways. First, it was used to guide the collection of information in field investigations of two selected case study sites in the province of Ontario, Canada (Savour Stratford and SAVOUR Muskoka). Second, it was used to structure the qualitative analyses in each case study. Third, it guided comparison of the case studies where it was also used as an evaluative tool to suggest what is working well and less well in the study clusters. It was also used prescriptively to suggest what elements require further attention to strengthen the performance of the clusters. The study focuses on the relatively new concepts of a creative food economy, environmentally friendly culinary tourism and place branding in the formation of a culinary cluster in place-based rural community development. These themes are obviously interrelated, but have not been explored together previously; and thus, the study provides conceptual coherence for addressing their relationships. The findings of the comparative case study suggest that the transformation of a ‘terroir’ into a taste of a place through place branding is based upon the identification of the strengths of a place through inventory of the culinary-related core resources, and the leading and supporting assets (e.g., hard factors of natural environment and soft factors of cultural heritage). Since these will be different from place to place, one should expect different outcomes as the comparative case study demonstrates. Success will depend upon the use of culinary-related resources, based on local things and knowledge, leadership, and stakeholder involvement through collaboration and partnership, to create a uniquely appealing identity and image (place brand). Thus, a synergistic relationship can be established between the primary sector (agriculture) and service sector (tourism) through innovative entrepreneurial activities. The study makes important contributions both conceptually and empirically by creating a model that addresses the conversion of ‘terroir’ into a creative and environmentally friendly tourism place, by demonstrating the utility of the model through application to two cases in a comparative format; and practically, by directing attention to items that need careful consideration if synergistic relationships are to be established between agriculture and tourism through the development of culinary clusters as part of place-based rural community development.

Martin Veselý At home at the large housing estate? Local identity and place identification in different types of urban environment The thesis is concerned with the question of local identity and place identification in urban environment on the example of Prague's Southern Town representing a large, centrally planned housing estate, and "old" Vršovice as an example of a traditional city quarter. The author distinguishes two theoretical-methodological approaches to the analysis of urban environment. The first approach is ontological-historical, ethic perspective describing the city with the use of theoretical devices of urbanism and phenomenology of architecture. The second approach - anthropological - is an emic approach studying the interpretation of a place by social agents. The author shows on numerous examples, how do the people identify with a place and what is the role of the physical attributes of the place and its memory in the process of place identification. The relation between ontological-historical and anthropological perspective is according to the author dialogic and he is looking for points of intersection. He shows that the consequence of one-sided way of interpretation is insufficient understanding for place identity. In other words, it is not able to answer convincingly the...

Martin Veselý At home at the large housing estate? Local identity and place identification in different types of urban environment The thesis is concerned with the question of local identity and place identification in urban environment on the example of Prague's Southern Town representing a large, centrally planned housing estate, and "old" Vršovice as an example of a traditional city quarter. The author distinguishes two theoretical-methodological approaches to the analysis of urban environment. The first approach is ontological-historical, ethic perspective describing the city with the use of theoretical devices of urbanism and phenomenology of architecture. The second approach - anthropological - is an emic approach studying the interpretation of a place by social agents. The author shows on numerous examples, how do the people identify with a place and what is the role of the physical attributes of the place and its memory in the process of place identification. The relation between ontological-historical and anthropological perspective is according to the author dialogic and he is looking for points of intersection. He shows that the consequence of one-sided way of interpretation is insufficient understanding for place identity. In other words, it is not able to answer convincingly the...

With a projected increase in electricity demand and low-carbon energy generation in the UK, expansion of the existing transmission grid network is required. In going beyond the NIMBY concept, Devine-Wright (2009) posited a place-based approach that highlights the roles of place attachment and place-related symbolic meanings for understanding public responses to energy infrastructure proposals. This PhD research investigated two overarching and interrelated research aims. The first sought to enlarge our understandings of the processes of attachment and detachment to the residence place by investigating the dynamics of varieties of people-place relations across the life course (people's 'life-place trajectories'), thus addressing the limitation of studies adopting a 'structural' approach to the study of people-place relations. This research, in a second instance, sought to better understand the role of people's life-place trajectories and a range of project-based factors (i.e. procedural and distributive justice) in shaping people's responses to a power line proposal. This research focussed on the Hinckley Point C (HPC) transmission line proposal and residents of the town of Nailsea, South-West England. A social representations theory framework was usefully applied to this research by acknowledging that people's personal place relations and their beliefs about proposed place change, are situated and embedded within wider social representations of place and project. A mixed methods approach was employed comprising three empirical studies. The first consisted of twenty-five narrative interviews, the second a set of five focus group interviews, and the third a questionnaire survey study (n=264) amongst a representative sample of Nailsea residents. Triangulating findings across the three studies produced a novel set of key findings. By elaborating five novel 'life-place trajectories', this PhD research moved beyond structural approaches to the study of people-place relations and made a novel contribution to our understandings of the processes and dynamics of attachment and detachment to the residence place across the life course. This research further confirmed the existing typology of people-place relations and revealed a novel variety termed 'Traditional-active attachment'. Life-place trajectories were instrumental in informing divergent representations of the nearby countryside which were more or less congruent with objectified representations of the HPC project. Future studies investigating place and project meanings should be sensitive to these trajectories. Interestingly, place as a 'centre of meaning' rather than a 'locus of attachment' (or non-attachment) emerged as particularly salient for understanding responses to the project. Project-based factors were salient in informing participants' responses toward the project. A perceived imbalance between high local costs and an absence of local benefits was seen to result in distributive injustice and opposition toward the project. However, improved perceived procedural justice following National Grid's announcement of siting concessions in the spring of 2013, was seen to ameliorate local trust in the developer and project acceptance.

Although youth tourism is an increasingly relevant subject little research have been done regarding the segment’s own perception of their impacts. A consumer perspective was assumed to examine in what ways youth tourism impact places. This study adopts a deductive approach reviewing existing literature regarding youth tourism, impact and place. A case study concerning how youth travellers perceive and evaluate their own impacts was conducted using mixed-methods. Data sources include a survey and in-depth interviews concerning sociocultural, economic, and environmental items. The study concludes that what impacts youth tourism has on places are subject to the place’s current state and ability to host youth travellers. The number of youth travellers and their behaviour determines the local and global sociocultural, economic and environmental impacts that youth tourism has on places. This paper is considered a pre-study that contributes to the development of theory regarding youth tourism.