Symbols of Resilience and Contested Place Identity in the Coastal Fishing Towns of Cromer and Sheringham, Norfolk, UK: Implications for Social Wellbeing

Fishing has been a core part of the identities of Cromer and Sheringham, rural coastal communities with a long tradition of inshore crab fishing in the East of England. However, given the decline in the number of fishing boats and wider demographic, economic and social change, the fishing identity of these towns is perceived as threatened. Drawing on qualitative research, this chapter develops a conceptual approach drawing on perspectives from place research and social wellbeing to explore the different place meanings held by coastal residents, visitors and fishermen. A focus on how different people relate to place and with each other provides a more nuanced understanding of social wellbeing. Tensions over place identity are exposed particularly between ‘newcomers’ and local residents, and over aspirations for economic development. Cromer and Sheringham’s fishing identity is being defended by the fishermen and those who value the fishery. This case study reveals the political nature of how different understandings of place, development and wellbeing are constructed and contested. The future of the fishery and the town will depend on whose values and place meanings are privileged and represented in governance processes

Sense of Place among Atlanta Public Housing Residents

For almost two decades now, cities around the country have been demolishing traditional public housing and relocating residents to subsidized private market rental housing. In this paper, we examine sense of place, consisting of both community and place attachment, among a sample of Atlanta public housing residents prior to relocation (N = 290). We find that 41% of the residents express place attachment, and a large percentage express some level of community attachment, though residents of senior public housing are far more attached than residents of family public housing. Positive neighborhood characteristics, such as collective efficacy and social support, are associated with community attachment, and social support is also associated with place attachment. Negative neighborhood characteristics, such as social disorder and fear of crime, are not consistently associated with sense of place. We argue that embodied in current public housing relocation initiatives is a real sense of loss among the residents. Policy makers may also want to consider the possibilities of drawing upon residents’ sense of place as a resource for renovating and revitalizing public housing communities rather than continuing to demolish them and relocating residents to other neighborhoods