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 2024/2025
Place, Activity and Human Development (MP0001-10012)
2024-09-02 - 2025-01-19
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 utvecklingSubjects
Environmental PsychologyEducation cycle
Master’s levelModules
| 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
The grade requirements within the course grading system are set out in specific criteria. These criteria must be available by the course start at the latest.
Language
EnglishPrior knowledge
Knowledge equivalent to 120 credits and English 6Objectives
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.
Grading form
The grade requirements within the course grading system are set out in specific criteria. These criteria must be available by the course start at the latest.Formats and requirements for examination
Participation in a selection of workshops/seminars and successful completion of assignments. Passed exam.
If a student has failed an examination, the examiner has the right to issue supplementary assignments. This applies if it is possible and there are grounds to do so.
The examiner can provide an adapted assessment to students entitled to study support for students with disabilities following a decision by the university. Examiners may also issue an adapted examination or provide an alternative way for the students to take the exam.
If this syllabus is withdrawn, SLU may introduce transitional provisions for examining students admitted based on this syllabus and who have not yet passed the course.
For the assessment of an independent project (degree project), the examiner may also allow a student to add supplemental information after the deadline for submission. Read more in the Education Planning and Administration Handbook.
Other information
The right to participate in teaching and/or supervision only applies for the course instance the student was admitted to and registered on.
If there are special reasons, students are entitled to participate in components with compulsory attendance when the course is given again. Read more in 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
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