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MP0001

Place, Activity and Human Development

Place is important for human health, well-being and development. The course focuses on general principles regulating our use of space and the way the relationship with place evolves dynamically over the lifespan. Special attention is given to the role of natural elements for restorative activity and formation of emotional bonds to specific places and to nature at large. The course consists of theoretical studies as well as practical exercises.

Course evaluation

The course evaluation is now closed

MP0001-10014 - Course evaluation report

Once the evaluation is closed, the course coordinator and student representative have 1 month to draft their comments. The comments will be published in the evaluation report.

Additional course evaluations for MP0001

Academic year 2023/2024

Place, Activity and Human Development (MP0001-10215)

2023-08-28 - 2024-01-14

Academic year 2021/2022

Place, Activity and Human Development (MP0001-10290)

2021-08-30 - 2022-01-16

Academic year 2020/2021

Place, Activity and Human Development (MP0001-10183)

2020-08-31 - 2021-01-17

Syllabus and other information

Syllabus

MP0001 Place, Activity and Human Development, 15.0 Credits

Plats, aktivitet och individens utveckling

Subjects

Environmental Psychology

Education cycle

Master’s level

Modules

Title Credits Code
Single module 15.0 0101

Advanced study in the main field

Second cycle, has only first-cycle course/s as entry requirementsMaster’s level (A1N)

Grading scale

5:Pass with Distinction, 4:Pass with Credit, 3:Pass, U:Fail The requirements for attaining different grades are described in the course assessment criteria which are contained in a supplement to the course syllabus. Current information on assessment criteria shall be made available at the start of the course.

Language

English

Prior knowledge

Knowledge equivalent to 120 credits and English 6

Objectives

The aim of the course is to give a psychological understanding of how people´s emotional bonds to specific places evolve during life, with particular focus on home and residential areas.

After completion of the course the student will be able to:

- specify general characteristics of activities taking place in green settings and some psychological principles regulating this behaviour

- give an overview of the general changes that occur in the way a person relates to the outdoor environment during the course of a lifetime

- elaborate on how people develop emotional bonds to specific places and the role of home environment in the formation of identity

- discuss the implications of people having bonds to places for planning and community development.

Content

The course combines the study of theory on the subject with workshops and assignments to investigate the following topics:

- How people use different places in the outdoor environment and what functions they take on in everyday life. With a focus on opportunities for privacy and rest, as well as possibilities for movement and creative action; in gardens, yards, parks and squares. Important concepts are "creativity", "self-regulation" and "personal space"
- How places take on meaning. We pay attention to how the acquirement of favourite places in childhood can be a precursor to feelings of home in the place of residence. Important concepts are "place attachment", "place identity" and "social cohesion"
- The role of people’s relationships to place following changes in their physical environment , due to moving, redevelopment, natural disasters e t c.

Specifications of assignments are given at course start. A selection of seminars and workshops and presentations of assignments are mandatory.

The course combines mandatory online meetings with tasks carried out independently.

Formats and requirements for examination

Participation in a selection of workshops/seminars and successful completion of assignments. Passed exam. If a student fails a test, the examiner may give the student a supplementary assignment, provided this is possible and there is reason to do so.

If a student has been granted targeted study support because of a disability, the examiner has the right to offer the student an adapted test, or provide an alternative form of assessment.

If this course is discontinued, SLU will decide on transitional provisions for the examination of students admitted under this syllabus who have not yet been awarded a Pass grade.

For the assessment an independent project (degree project), the examiner may also allow a student to add supplemental information after  the deadline for submission.  For more information, please refer to the Education Planning and Administration Handbook.
  • If the student fails a test, the examiner may give the student a supplementary assignment, provided this is possible and there is reason to do so.
  • If the student has been granted special educational support because of a disability, the examiner has the right to offer the student an adapted test, or provide an alternative assessment.
  • If changes are made to this course syllabus, or if the course is closed, SLU shall decide on transitional rules for examination of students admitted under this syllabus but who have not yet passed the course.
  • For the examination of a degree project (independent project), the examiner may also allow the student to add supplemental information after the deadline. For more information on this, please refer to the regulations for education at Bachelor's and Master's level.

Other information

The right to take part in teaching and/or supervision only applies to the course instance which the student has been admitted to and registered on.

If there are special reasons, the student may take part in course components that require compulsory attendance at a later date. For more information, please refer to the Education Planning and Administration Handbook.

Additional information

The course is given as a distance course, with mandatory online meetings, at 50% speed.

Responsible department

Department of People and Society

Further information

Determined by: Programnämnden för utbildning inom landskap och trädgård (PN - LT)
Replaces: LK0280

Litterature list

Course Literature - Place, Activity and Human Development (MP0001)

There may be some additional literature.

**T****extbook: **Manzo, L. C. & Devine-Wright, P. *(2013). Place attachment: Advances in theory, methods and applications, *Routledge, Oxon. (At the library it is available for 3 users (seven days) and 3 copies at the shelf).

**Block I – Defining place relationships
**

Giuliani, M. V. (2003). Theory of attachment and place attachment. In M. Bonnes, T. Lee, & M. Bonaiuto (Eds.), *Psychological theories for environmental issues *(pp. 137-170). Adelshot: Ashgate.

Jeffres, L. W., Bracken, C. C., Jian, G., & Casey, M. F. (2009). The impact of third places on community quality of life. Applied research in quality of life, 4(4), 333-345. Chicago

Lewicka, M. (2011). Place attachment: How far have we come in the last 40 years? Journal of Environmental Psychology, 31, 207-230. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2010.10.001

Lewicka, M. (2013). Place inherited or place discovered? Agency and communion in people- place bonding. Estudios De Psicologia, 34(3), 261-274.

Manzo, L. C. (2003). Beyond house and haven: toward a revisioning of emotional relationships with places. In Journal of Environmental Psychology, 23(1), 47– 61. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-4944(02)00074-9.

Rosenbaum, M. S., Ward, J., Walker, B. A., & Ostrom, A. L. (2007). A cup of coffee with a dash of love: An investigation of commercial social support and third-place attachment. Journal of Service research, 10(1), 43-59. Chicago

Scannell, L., & Gifford, R. (2010). Defining place attachment: A tripartite organizing framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30(1), 1-10. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2009.09.006

Scannell, L., & Gifford, R. (2013). The Psychology of Place Attachment. In R. Gifford (Ed.), *Environmental Psychology: Principles and Practice *(Fifth edition ed., pp. 272-295). Victoria: Optimal Books.

Scannell, L., & Gifford, R. (2014). Comparing the theories of interpersonal and place attachment. In *Place attachment: advances in theory, methods and applications *(pp. 23-26).

Seamon, D. (2013). Place attachment and phenomenology: The synergistic dynamism of place. In *Place Attachment: Advances in Theory, Methods and Applications *(pp. 11- 22): Taylor and Francis.

Twigger-Ross, C., Bonaiuto, M., & Breakwell, G. (2003). Identity theories and environmental psychology. In M. Bonnes, T. Lee, & M. Bonaiuto (Eds.), *Psychological theories for environmental issues *(pp. 203-233). Aldershot: Ashgate.

William, D. R. (2013). “Beyond the Commodity Metaphor,” Revisited. Some Methodological Reflections on Place Attachment Research. In L. C. Manzo & P. Devine-Wright (Eds.), *Place Attachment: Advances in Theory, Methods and Applications *(pp. 178-190). London: Routledge.

**Block II – The making of home across life span
**

Bartos, A. E. (2013). Children sensing place. Emotion, Space and Society, 9(1), 89-98. doi:10.1016/j.emospa.2013.02.008

Bengtsson, A., & Carlsson, G. (2013). Outdoor environments at three nursing homes- qualitative interviews with residents and next of kin. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 12(3), 393-400. doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2013.03.008

Childress, H. (2004). Teenagers, Territory and the Appropriation of Space Childhood, 11(2), 195-205. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568204043056

Chawla, L. (2020). Childhood nature connection and constructive hope: A review of research on connecting with nature and coping with environmental loss. People and Nature, 2(3), 619-642. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10128

Clark, C., & Uzzell, D. L. (2002). The affordances of the home, neighbourhood, school and town centre for adolescents. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 22(1), 95-108.

Lewicka, M. (2013). In search of roots: Memory as enabler of place attachment. In L. C. Manzo & P. Devine-Wright (Eds.), *Place Attachment: Advances in Theory, Methods and Applications *(pp. 49-60). London: Routledge.

Mihaylov, N., & Perkins, D. D. (2013). Community Place Attachment and its Role in Social Capital Development. In L. C. Manzo & P. Devine-Wright (Eds.), *Place Attachment: Advances in Theory, Methods and Applications *(pp. 61-74). London: Routledge.

Moore, J. (2000). Placing home in context Journal of Environmental Psychology, 20(3), 207- 217. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jevp.2000.0178

Morgan, P. (2010). Towards a developmental theory of place attachment. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30(1), 11-22. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2009.07.001

Nordström, M. (2014). Young People’s Attachment to Place. In E. Edgerton, O. Romaice, & K. Thwaites (Eds.), *Bridging the Boundaries. Human Experience in the Natural and Built Environment and Implications for Research, Policy, and Practice, Advances in People- Environment Studies *(Vol. 5). Boston: Hogrefe Publishing.

Wells, N. M., & Lekies, K. S. (2006). Nature and the Life Course: Pathways from Childhood Nature Experiences to AdultEnvironmentalism. Children, Youth and Environments, 16(1), 1-24. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7721/chilyoutenvi.16.1.0001

**Block III – Homelessness, place disruption, challenges and renegotiation of bonds
**

Devine-Wright, P. (2013). Dynamics of Place Attachment in a Climate Changed World. In L. C. Manzo & P. Devine-Wright (Eds.), *Place attachment: Advances in theory, methods and applications *(pp. 165-177). London: Routledge.

Fried, M. (2000). Continuities and discontinuities of place Journal of Environmental Psychology, 20(3), 193-205. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jevp.1999.0154

Gustafson, P. (2014). Place attachment in an age of mobility. In L. C. Manzo & P. Devine- Wright (Eds.), *Place attachment: Advances in theory, methods and applications *(pp. 37-48). London: Routledge.

Manzo, L. C. (2013). Exploring the shadow side: Place attachment in the context of stigma, displacement, and social housing. In L. C. Manzo & P. Devine-Wright (Eds.), *Place Attachment: Advances in Theory, Methods and Applications *(pp. 178-190): London: Routledge.

Manzo, L. C., Kleit, R. G., & Couch, D. (2008). "Moving three times is like having your house on fire once": The experience of place and impending displacement among public housing residents. Urban Studies, 45(9), 1855-1878. doi:10.1177/0042098008093381

Nanninga, C. S., Meijering, L., Schönherr, M. C., Postema, K., & Lettinga, A. T. (2015). Place attachment in stroke rehabilitation: A transdisciplinary encounter between cultural geography, environmental psychology and rehabilitation medicine. Disability and Rehabilitation, 37(13), 1125-1134. doi:10.3109/09638288.2014.955136

Scannell, L., & Gifford, R. (2017). The experienced psychological benefits of place attachment. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 51, 256-269. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2017.04.001

Thompson Fullilove, M. (2013). “The Frayed Knot”. What Happens to Place Attachment in the Context of Serial Forced Displacement? In L. C. Manzo & P. Devine-Wright (Eds.), *Place Attachment: Advances in Theory, Methods and Applications *(pp. 141-153). London: Routledge.

Wildish, B., Kearns, R., & Collins, D. (2016). At home away from home: visitor accommodation and place attachment. Annals of Leisure Research, 19(1), 117-133. doi:10.1080/11745398.2015.1037324

Block IV – From theories on place attachment to practice: Housing projects, alternative dwellings and neighbourhoods

Bonaiuto, M., & ALves, S. (2012). Residential places and neighborhoods: Towards healthy life, social integration and reputable residence. In S. D. Clayton (Ed.), *The Oxford Handbook of environmental and conservation psychology *New York: Oxford.

Dempsey, N., Bramley, G., Power, S., & Brown, C. (2009). The Social Dimension of Sustainable Development: Defining Urban Social Sustainability. Sustainable Development. doi:0.1002/sd.417

Frumkin, H. (2003). Healthy Places: Exploring the Evidence. American Journal of Public Health, 93(9), 1451-1456.

Hartig, G., Johansson, G., & Kylin, C. (2003). Residence in the Social Ecology of Stress and Restoration. Journal of Social Issues, 59(3), 611-636. doi:10.1111/1540-4560.00080

Hester, R. T. J. (2013). Do Not Detach! Instructions From and For Community Design. In L. C. Manzo & P. Devine-Wright (Eds.), *Place Attachment: Advances in Theory, Methods and Applications *(pp. 191-206). London: Routledge.

Malone, K. (2013). “The future lies in our hands”: children as researchers and environmental change agents in designing a child-friendly neighbourhood. The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability, 18(3), 372-395. doi:10.1080/13549839.2012.719020

Manzo, L. C., & Perkins, D. D. (2006). Finding common ground: The importance of place attachment to community participation and planning. Journal of Planning Literature, 20(4), 335-350. doi:10.1177/0885412205286160

Rees, W., & Mumford, L. (2013). Urban Environmental Psychology. In R. Gifford (Ed.), *Environmental Psychology: Principles and Practice *(pp. 240-267). Victoria: Optimal Books.

Ruskin, J. (2013). Residential Environmental Psychology. In R. Gifford (Ed.), *Environmental Psychology: Principles and Practice *(pp. 213-235). Victoria: Optimal Books.

Scannell, L., & Gifford, R. (2017). Place attachment enhances psychological need satisfaction. Environment and Behavior, 49(4), 359-389. doi:10.1177/0013916516637648

**Literature to assignment
**

Brinkmann, S., & Kvale, S. (2015). *Interviews: Learning the craft of qualitative research interviewing *(3 ed.). London: SAGE Publication.

Kitchin, R. M. (1994). Cognitive maps: What are they and why study them? Journal of Environmental Psychology, 14(1), 1-19. doi:10.1016/S0272- 4944(05)80194-X

**Additional literature of interest (not mandatory)
**

Adevi, A. A., & Mårtensson, F. (2013). Stress rehabilitation through garden therapy: The garden as a place in the recovery from stress. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 12, 230-237. doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2013.01.007

Albrecht, G., Sartore, C., Connor, L., Higginbotham, N., Freeman, S., Kelly, B., . . .Pollard, G. (2007). Solastalgia: The distress caused by environmental change. Australasian Psychiatry, 3, 41-55.

Bell, P. A., Greene, T., C., Fischer, J., & Baum, A. (2001). Personal space and territoriality *Environmental psychology *(pp. 252-332). Orlando: Harcourt Collage Publisher.

Bengtsson, A. (2015). From Experiences of the outdoors to the design of healthcare environments. (Doctoral thesis). Swedish university for Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp. (2015:66). (Chapter 2.3-3.4).

Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: Parent-child attachment and healthy human development. New York, NY US: Basic Books.

Bowlby, J. (1970). Disruption of affectional bonds and its effects on behaviour. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 2(2), 75-86. doi:10.1007/bf02118173

Butler, A., Sarlöv-Herlin, I., Knez, I., Ångman, E., Ode Sang, Å., & Åkerskog, A. (2017). Landscape identity, before and after a forest fire. Landscape Research, 43(6), 878- 889. doi:10.1080/01426397.2017.1344205

Cele, S. (2006). *Communicating place: methods for understanding children's experience of place. *(Doctoral thesis). Stockholm University, Stockholm.

Cele, S. (2019). Social, Material and Political Constructs of Arctic Childhoods, An Everyday Life Perspective. In K. Malone, M. Tesar, & S. Arndt (Eds.), *Children: Global Posthumanist Perspectives and Materialist Theories *(pp. 1-15). Singapore: Springer.

Chawla, L., Keena, K., Pevec, I., & Stanley, E. (2014). Green schoolyards as havens from stress and resources for resilience in childhood and adolescence. Health & Place, 28, 1-13. doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2014.03.001

Dandy, J., Horwitz, P., Campbell, R. S., Drake, D., & Leviston, Z. (2019). Leaving home: place attachment and decisions to move in the face of environmental change. Regional environmental change, 19(2), 615-620.

Dovey, K. (1985). Home and homelessness. In A. Alterman & C. M. Werner (Eds.), *Home environments *(pp. 33-64). New York: Plenum Press.

Ekman, P. (1999). Basic emotions *Handbook of cognition and emotion *(pp. 45-60). Sussex, U.K.: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Forrest, R., & Kearns, A. (2001). Social Cohesion, Social Capital and the Neighbourhood. Urban Studies, 38, 2125-2143. doi:10.1080/00420980120087081

Gifford, Robert (2007). The consequences of living in high-rise buildings. *Architectural Science Review, *50(1), 2-17

Gustafson, P. E. R. (2001). Meanings of place: Everyday experience and theoretical conceptualizations Journal of Environmental Psychology, 21(1), 5-16. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jevp.2000.0185

Knez, I. (2006). Autobiographical memories for places. Memory, 14(3), 359-377. doi:10.1080/09658210500365698

Korpela, K., Kyttä, M., & Hartig, T. (2002). Restorative experience, self-regulation, and children's place preferences. Journal of environmental psychology, 22(4), 387- 398.

Knöll, M., & Roe, J. J. (2017). Ten questions concerning a new adolescent health urbanism. Building and Environment, 126, 496-506

Lewicka, M. (2010). What makes neighborhood different from home and city? Effects of place scale on place attachment. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30(1), 35-51. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2009.05.004

Manzo, L. C. (2014). On uncertain ground: being at home in the context of public housing redevelopment. International Journal of Housing Policy. doi:10.1080/14616718.2014.947125

Marcheschi, E., Laike, T., Brunt, D., Hansson, L., & Johansson, M. (2015). Quality of life and place attachment among people with severe mental illness. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 41, 135-154. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2014.12.003

Panksepp, J., & Watt, D. (2011). What is basic about basic emotions? Lasting lessons from affective neuroscience. Emotion Review, 3(4), 387-396. doi:10.1177/1754073911410741

Perkins, D. D., & Long, A. D. (2002). Neighborhood sense of community and social capital: A multi-level analysis. In A. Fisher, C. Sonn, & B. Bishop (Eds.), *Psychological sense of community: Research, applications, and implications *(pp. 291-318). New York: Plenum.

Relph, E. (1976). Place and placelessness. Lewiston New York: Pion.

von Essen, E. & Mårtensson, F. (2017). Young adults' use of emotional food memories to build resilience. Appetite, 112, 210-218. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2017.01.036

von Essen, E. (2008). *Kulturpräglade miljökaraktärer i Landskapet - Om teorierna kring och användning av: ’’Allmänningen’’, ’’Lustgården’’ och ’’Centrum, festen’’ i fysisk planering för hälsa och välbefinnande. *(Master Magisterexamensarbete i Natur, hälsa och trädgård), Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, SLU i Alnarp, Alnarp. (2008:5)

Whitlock, J. (2007). The role of asults, public space, and power in adolescent community connectedness. Journal of Community Psychology, 35(4), 499-518. doi:10.1002/jcop.20161

Winnicott, D. W. (1953). Transitional Objects and Transitional Phenomena—A Study of the First Not-Me Possession. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 34, 89-97.

Wood, L., & Giles-Corti, B. (2008). Is there a place for social capital in the psychology of health and place? Journal of Environmental Psychology, 28, 154-163. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2007.11.00

More information:
Amanda.gabriel@slu.se

Course facts

The course is offered as an independent course: Yes The course is offered as a programme course: Outdoor Environments for Health and Well-being - Master's Programme Tuition fee: Tuition fee only for non-EU/EEA/Switzerland citizens: 27500 SEK Cycle: Master’s level (A1N)
Subject: Environmental Psychology
Course code: MP0001 Application code: SLU-10014 Location: Independent courses Distance course: Yes Language: English Responsible department: Department of People and Society Pace: 50%