The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore a local food movement from the perspectives of small-scale, sustainable farmers in rural Jackson and Union Counties in Southern Illinois. This research applies three tenets of bioregionalism: (1) bioregional place identity, (2) foodshed ecology, and (3) community resilience as a thematic framework to examine the dimensions of a local food movement. Nine self-identified sustainable local food producers were individually interviewed and guided by four primary research questions derived from the bioregional thematic framework. The researcher seeks to understand the farmers’ perceptions of the (1) drivers, barriers, and limitations of the southern Illinois local food movement, (2) bioregional place identity and characteristics of the southern Illinois foodshed, (3) ecological integrity of the local food movement, and (4) local food access and community resiliency within the farmers’ bioregion. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using qualitative data methodologies. Key findings emerge from the data that respond to the four primary research questions: (1a) Farmers are driven by ecological and social values, as well as personal fulfillment to provide an alternative food system; (1b) Farmers face a barrage of economic, political, social, and ecological barriers that challenge the local food movement; (1c) The market-based, profit-driven economic system is the cause of most barriers and limitations in the southern Illinois food movement; (2) The farmers’ sense of place and the bioregion’s terrier indicate a strong and cohesive bioregional place identity for the farmers within the southern Illinois local food movement; (3) Farmers do not conflate scale with sustainability and are critical of the ecological impact of their work; (4) Farmers acknowledge bioregional food to be largely inaccessible in their bioregion, however, this consideration extends beyond most farmers’ capabilities. The significance of these findings indicate that the where of food matters beyond the conflation that scale determines the ecological and social integrity of food production. This further suggests that bioregionalism is a useful paradigm to analyze the dimensions of local food movements, to deepen the understanding of the place of local food.

This dissertation explores the relationahip of personal narrative and the formation of place-identity in northern New Mexico Hispanic villages. In particular it identifies linguistic and discursive strategies that are emphasized within naturallly occurring and institutional speech-events in the villages, households and schools. These linguistic strategies contribute to a larger trajectory of language socialization that is somewhat particular to the region. some of these linguistic strategies include the use of regional Spanish lexicon and syntax as well as linguistic competence in certain areas of cultural content.

The purpose of this study is to better understand the relationship between the personalization of one’s physical environment and the degree of place identity the person has toward their space, specifically those living in temporary student housing. There have been several studies on peoples’ inherent need to personalize their space. While previous research has identified key factors that help to define place identity in general, this study addresses the fact that not much has been said about how people in temporary housing, specifically student housing, actually go about creating their living spaces. The key issues this research addressed were the degree of place identity achieved by those living in temporary student housing, the manner in which they went about personalizing their spaces, and the relationship between the two. Also, because this is a study of the primary residence or home of the participants, special attention was given to the concept of home. Undergraduate students living in student housing on a university campus were recruited to complete a questionnaire and participate in an interview. The purpose of this research technique was to better understand each person’s attitude toward their space and the factors involved in the way they personalized their space. The researcher also conducted a visual analysis of each space to determine the level and type of personalization. Eight methods (or factors) of personalizing space were compared to the three dimensions of place identity. Significant positive correlations emerged between the place-self congruity dimension of place identity and the personalization of space factors of traditional decoration, decorative complexity, and decoration to create image, therefore showing there is a possible link between gaining a sense of place identity and the level and type of personalization of space displayed in a temporary student housing setting. The study also found that the definition of home is dependent on the context and can have various meaning for the same person.

A common phenomenon is that larger cities have different place identities; therefore, this thesis is based on the case of Malmö since it is Sweden's third largest city. The purpose was to explore how Malmö’s place image coheres to its place identity, and how the duality of Malmö influences the place image.   The research was based on a qualitative case study with an abductive approach since the purpose was explorative. Furthermore, the developed conceptual framework of this thesis was based on previous research regarding place branding, more specifically, place image and place identity. The empirical material in this thesis was collected through a comprehensive user-generated content analysis of Instagram posts as well as through two semis-structured focus groups with people living outside of Malmö.   Findings revealed that the place image and place identity cohered in some aspects, while in other aspects the place image differs from the place identity. Furthermore, the findings revealed a complex duality within the city; thus, the place identity of Malmö sends out dual messages which influenced the place image that strengthened the duality of Malmö.   The findings of this thesis have contributed with insights to the field of place branding since the concept of place image has not been related to dualities within cities in previous research.The limitations of this thesis were that the participants in the focus groups were from the same university which might have influenced their perception. Another limitation was that only people aged 35 or younger participated. Due to Covid-19, it was hard to find people older than 35 to the focus groups and the result could receive a broader perspective if the participants were older. These limitations could be considered in future research to receive the place image of a broader age range. Furthermore, future research could consider complementing the method of this thesis with focus groups to expose both the positive and negative side of Malmö.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Geography / Richard A. Marston / David R. Seamon / Sprawling over 180 square miles of California’s Mojave Desert, Wonder Valley was founded in the early 1950s and today is an unincorporated community of approximately 1,000 residents. The community’s landscape is expansive and unsettling, featuring a chaotic assortment of residences that include abandoned homesteads, squatter settlements, artists’ studios, middle-class cabins, and luxury vacation properties. This dissertation explores Wonder Valley’s enigmatic place identity from residents’ point of view, drawing on an experiential understanding of place grounded in humanistic and phenomenological geography. Specifically, the dissertation makes use of Edward Relph’s explication of place identity to guide empirical inquiry and conceptual structure. Drawing on resident interviews, place observations, and textual analysis, the dissertation identifies and explicates three distinct Wonder Valley identities—homesteaders, dystopics, and utopics. Arriving in the 1950s, homesteaders were Wonder Valley’s first inhabitants and express a practical connection to the landscape that is interpreted in terms of environmental reach, specifically, the creation, maintenance, and extension of environmental and place order. During the 1970s, as many homesteaders abandoned Wonder Valley, dystopics arrived and today include two subgroups: first, a criminal element pulled to Wonder Valley because of its local isolation but regional proximity to Los Angeles; and, second, destitute squatters pushed out from other communities and having nowhere else to go. The third group identified is utopics, primarily artists from Los Angeles and San Francisco, who arrived in the early 1990s, attracted by Wonder Valley’s natural beauty and sacred ambience. The dissertation explores how these three groups arrived at different times, for different reasons, to create vastly different landscapes, to engage in opposing aims and activities, and to understand Wonder Valley’s meaning as a place in greatly contrasting ways. These differences in meaning are most directly expressed in the common areas of public land, which have often become sites of inter-group tension and conflict, particularly in regard to abandoned homesteads and the use of off-road vehicles. To interpret this group conflict conceptually, the dissertation develops what is termed existential ecotone— a unique mode of place experience generated by overlapping but contrasting modes of being-in-place.

Jakobs dagar is a cultural event that takes place in the city of Jakobstad in Finland. The aim of this paper is to see if the place identity that Jakobstad has matches the cultural event. The used method in this paper is focus groups with the locals from Jakobstad and an intervju with the organizer of the event, which is analyzed trough an thematic analysis. Jakobstads image is pitted against the image that Jakobs dagar depicts. The results are showing that the cutural image shown during the event fits the description of what the locals is regarding as Jakobstads cultural identity.

The aim of this study is to investigate how children express spatial autonomy in their preschool. Observations were made of one-to-three-year old children in free play in the preschool and in a nearby forest setting. The study is framed by Corsaro’s theory of peer culture and interpretive reproduction. It is a childhood sociological perspective that stresses the importance of children’s agency, children’s own contribution to their development. The results show three main strategies that children use to show spatial autonomy. The first is that children create places together, spatial autonomy evolve in interaction with peers. The second strategy is that they use high places to get a new perspective and gain a feeling of being on top of the world. The third strategy is how children make use of small spaces to withdraw. The expression of spatial autonomy is also a way for the children to gain control.

The edge city is often criticized as being a center of placelessness. It is the devaluation and commodification of place in contemporary approaches to urban design and planning that is stifling the prosperity of place identity and subsequently the ability for edge cites to create 'a sense of place'. It is probable that a broadened understanding of the situational context and the role of human experience in place making can suggest alternatives to current practices that reduce place to location. Capturing the essence of place inspires superior strategies for producing place identity and a grasp on the meaning of how recovering ‘a sense of place’ is fundamental in turning edge cities from consumable space into real and lasting places.

Landscape change induced by population growth and urban development is impacting the ecosystem goods and services provided by open space, which is essential to supporting many urban and rural populations. Conserving open space cannot be attained without obtaining public support especially in a state like Texas where most open space is privately owned. This dissertation was aimed at exploring the role of place identity as an intrinsic incentive for landowner involvement in conserving open space threatened by landscape change. Four objectives addressed in this research include: 1) defining place identity and identifying its underlying dimensions; 2) developing and refining a place-identity scale; 3) developing and testing a conceptual framework to explain the relationships among commitment, place identity, behavior/behavioral intention to manifest place identity, and perception of landscape change; and 4) drawing implications for open space conservation. Identity theory and identity control theory were applied to conceptualize place identity and develope structural models for hypothesis testing. Place identity was defined as comprising meanings that individuals ascribe to a place through their interaction with that place and become defining elements of their self-identity. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in this research. Results from semi-structured interviews with a convenience sample of landowners in the Texas Hill Country were used to develop the place-identity scale. Survey data from randomly selected Hill Country landowners were used in confirmatory factor analysis, mean and covariance structure analysis, and invariance testing based on the covariance structure to test and refine measures, to compare differences between landowner groups, and to test hypotheses. Findings suggested that identity theory and identity control theory provided valuable insight to place identity in the face of change. Results also supported a model of place identity comprised of cognitive and affective dimensions, and identified variations among individuals in their affective place-identity. Moreover, findings indicated that both dimensions exhibited different effects on identity-related behavior/behavioral intention under the influence of landscape change. Implications were provided for engaging landowners in open space conservation. This dissertation addresses several research gaps, and also raises questions important in understanding and applying place identity to promoting conservation.

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