The loss of rural facilities:a mixed methods study on perceptions of place-change

Almost half a century ago Wim Sonneveld sang about the baker and the butcher and everything that changes in 'our village'. Now the primary school, sports club and supermarket are closing, and according to recent news headlines the closure of facilities still hurts. But why exactly?It is often assumed that place-protective behaviour following the closure of rural facilities is caused by rational arguments, such as the loss of access to basic services. Therefore, policy responses often focus on ‘rational’ solutions. However, human behaviour is ultimately the result of a complex interplay of various socio-psychological processes. This thesis aims to understand the underlying mechanisms that explain negative perceptions of facility decline, by investigating how people interpret, evaluate and cope with the closure of local facilities in the north of the Netherlands. Findings indicate that the closure of various facilities can trigger or exacerbate a general sense of loss, which is influenced by the perceived loss of certain local facilities with a social, emotional, and symbolic value. In this mixed method study, insights from different academic fields are combined to show how aspects such as place bonds, collective efficacy, and the endowment effect influence perceptions of facility-decline. This thesis concludes with practical recommendations and a co-creative tool for policy makers and planners to support communities in their coping process

The loss of rural facilities:a mixed methods study on perceptions of place-change

Almost half a century ago Wim Sonneveld sang about the baker and the butcher and everything that changes in 'our village'. Now the primary school, sports club and supermarket are closing, and according to recent news headlines the closure of facilities still hurts. But why exactly?It is often assumed that place-protective behaviour following the closure of rural facilities is caused by rational arguments, such as the loss of access to basic services. Therefore, policy responses often focus on ‘rational’ solutions. However, human behaviour is ultimately the result of a complex interplay of various socio-psychological processes. This thesis aims to understand the underlying mechanisms that explain negative perceptions of facility decline, by investigating how people interpret, evaluate and cope with the closure of local facilities in the north of the Netherlands. Findings indicate that the closure of various facilities can trigger or exacerbate a general sense of loss, which is influenced by the perceived loss of certain local facilities with a social, emotional, and symbolic value. In this mixed method study, insights from different academic fields are combined to show how aspects such as place bonds, collective efficacy, and the endowment effect influence perceptions of facility-decline. This thesis concludes with practical recommendations and a co-creative tool for policy makers and planners to support communities in their coping process

The loss of rural facilities:a mixed methods study on perceptions of place-change

Almost half a century ago Wim Sonneveld sang about the baker and the butcher and everything that changes in 'our village'. Now the primary school, sports club and supermarket are closing, and according to recent news headlines the closure of facilities still hurts. But why exactly?It is often assumed that place-protective behaviour following the closure of rural facilities is caused by rational arguments, such as the loss of access to basic services. Therefore, policy responses often focus on ‘rational’ solutions. However, human behaviour is ultimately the result of a complex interplay of various socio-psychological processes. This thesis aims to understand the underlying mechanisms that explain negative perceptions of facility decline, by investigating how people interpret, evaluate and cope with the closure of local facilities in the north of the Netherlands. Findings indicate that the closure of various facilities can trigger or exacerbate a general sense of loss, which is influenced by the perceived loss of certain local facilities with a social, emotional, and symbolic value. In this mixed method study, insights from different academic fields are combined to show how aspects such as place bonds, collective efficacy, and the endowment effect influence perceptions of facility-decline. This thesis concludes with practical recommendations and a co-creative tool for policy makers and planners to support communities in their coping process

The loss of rural facilities:a mixed methods study on perceptions of place-change

Almost half a century ago Wim Sonneveld sang about the baker and the butcher and everything that changes in 'our village'. Now the primary school, sports club and supermarket are closing, and according to recent news headlines the closure of facilities still hurts. But why exactly?It is often assumed that place-protective behaviour following the closure of rural facilities is caused by rational arguments, such as the loss of access to basic services. Therefore, policy responses often focus on ‘rational’ solutions. However, human behaviour is ultimately the result of a complex interplay of various socio-psychological processes. This thesis aims to understand the underlying mechanisms that explain negative perceptions of facility decline, by investigating how people interpret, evaluate and cope with the closure of local facilities in the north of the Netherlands. Findings indicate that the closure of various facilities can trigger or exacerbate a general sense of loss, which is influenced by the perceived loss of certain local facilities with a social, emotional, and symbolic value. In this mixed method study, insights from different academic fields are combined to show how aspects such as place bonds, collective efficacy, and the endowment effect influence perceptions of facility-decline. This thesis concludes with practical recommendations and a co-creative tool for policy makers and planners to support communities in their coping process

The loss of rural facilities:a mixed methods study on perceptions of place-change

Almost half a century ago Wim Sonneveld sang about the baker and the butcher and everything that changes in 'our village'. Now the primary school, sports club and supermarket are closing, and according to recent news headlines the closure of facilities still hurts. But why exactly?It is often assumed that place-protective behaviour following the closure of rural facilities is caused by rational arguments, such as the loss of access to basic services. Therefore, policy responses often focus on ‘rational’ solutions. However, human behaviour is ultimately the result of a complex interplay of various socio-psychological processes. This thesis aims to understand the underlying mechanisms that explain negative perceptions of facility decline, by investigating how people interpret, evaluate and cope with the closure of local facilities in the north of the Netherlands. Findings indicate that the closure of various facilities can trigger or exacerbate a general sense of loss, which is influenced by the perceived loss of certain local facilities with a social, emotional, and symbolic value. In this mixed method study, insights from different academic fields are combined to show how aspects such as place bonds, collective efficacy, and the endowment effect influence perceptions of facility-decline. This thesis concludes with practical recommendations and a co-creative tool for policy makers and planners to support communities in their coping process

Experiencing place-change:A shared sense of loss after closure of village facilities

Rural communities often display strong emotions in response to closures of facilities and services. Research into explaining community responses hardly pays attention to the socio-psychological process of 'loss' of such local facilities, which occurs when place bonds are disrupted. This paper explores how a rural community makes sense of place-change by examining how residents interpret, evaluate and cope with local facility-decline. Three focus group discussions were conducted in Tzummarum, a village in the Netherlands, just after the closure of a local sports hall was announced. A theoretical framework for community coping-responses is used to interpret the empirical results. We find that while the closure of local facilities can result in a disruption of individual place bonds, there is a discernible shared sense of loss based on the social and symbolical meaning that certain facilities have for the village community. This sense of loss can help explain collective coping responses. However, this study found that collective action is only considered for local facilities that foster a sense of community, provided there is enough collective efficacy

Aversion to loss of place:The endowment effect for local facilities

Facility-decline is often met with community responses including protective behaviour. These reactions to place-change are preceded by the conscious and unconscious valuation of public places as communal assets and subsequent negative evaluation of closure. Previous studies show that closure of local facilities can be perceived as a loss to the community. However, a gap in place-based research in geography and environmental psychology is the lack of attention to psychological biases, such the endowment effect, that could influence in the perceived loss of facilities because people attach more value to something they are used to ‘having’. This paper uses insights from prospect theory as a reference point to theorise the socio-psychological process of dealing with place-change caused by the closure of local facilities. Analysis of a survey conducted in the Province of Fryslân, Netherlands, shows that positive subjective valuation of eight local facilities, as well as negative evaluation of closure, is influenced by the current availability and the social function of this facility in the neighbourhood. The results indicate that the endowment effect exists in the context of facility decline. This paper hopes to ignite a discussion, and to stimulate further research into the effect of psychological biases on place-based behaviour. Moreover, since previous studies show that a perceived sense of ownership and emotional and cognitive bonds can lead to endowment effects in other context, this study paves the way for research into the relationship between collective psychological ownership, place attachment, the endowment effect and overall aversion to loss of place.</p