Journal of Environmental Psychology (1992) 12, 285-303

0272-4944/92/040285+19508.00/0

@1992 Academic Press Ltd

ENVIKONMENTAL
.PNYCHOLOY
URBAN-RELATED IDENTITY: THEORY, MEASUREMENT,
AND EMPIRICAL FINDINGS
MARCO LALLI1

Psychological Institute, Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany

Abstract

On the basis of a critical literature review, the following problems are seen to characterize the psychological
research on 'place identity': heterogeneity of terms and their spatial extension, differing theoretical foundations and fragmented formulations, lack of adequate measuring instruments, and a scarcity of empirical work.
This paper aims firstly, to present a systematic analysis of the theoretical traditions of the work on 'place
identity'. Secondly, it uses constructs of medium range in order to systematize theory and research. An
example of the latter is presented with respect to urban-related identity. A framework for conceptualizing
urban-related identity and identification is developed on the basis of social psychological work on self-concept.
The second part introduces a measuring instrument (the 'Urban Identity Scale'), which offers an empirically
useful operationalization of the theoretical considerations presented in the first part of the paper. The findings
of different field studies illustrate the advantages of the empirical approach adopted and provide insights into
both the antecedents of urban-related identity and its consequences with respect to perception, cognitions and
experience of the urban environment. Finally, remaining problems and furttier implications are discussed.

Introduction

The last 15 years has seen numerous efforts to

conceptualize place-related identity within the field
of environmental psychology. Of particular importance is the work on 'place identity' (Proshansky,
1978; Proshansky et al., 1983), 'sense of place' or
'rootedness' (Relph, 1976; Buttimer, 1980; Tuan,
1980), 'place dependence' (Stokols & Shumaker,
1981) and 'attachment to place' (Gerson et al., 1977).
In addition, the approaches of Fried (1963) and
Treinen (1965) are representative of a number of
earlier formulations. These perspectives employ a
very wide ranging and often fuzzy definition of
'place'. The term 'place' is used in a fairly narrow
sense to encompass the house or flat individuals live
in, the neighborhood with its concomitant social
network, one's work place and other relevant
environments. The relationship with one's physical
surroundings is essentially viewed as bound up with
concrete experiences. Thus, the focus is on those
places which can be directly experienced by a person
and which are subjectively meaningful to him or her.
It is primarily through this concrete relationship
t h a t the environment attains its symbolic
significance as a subStrate of social, emotional and
action-related contents.

In others words, psychological research has

concentrated on micro-spatial processes. These encompass the flat or house (Dovey, 1985; Graumann,
1988), the immediate residential surroundings, the
neighborhood and the areas of town (Schneider,
1986). In addition, investigations into identification
with a town 2 as a whole have also gained some
prominence (Proshansky, 1978; Lalli, 1988). In
contrast, geographers, for example, employ the
terms 'regional identity' or 'regional consciousness'
(Blotevogel et al., 1986; Weichhart, 1990). These
terms cover the entire macro- and micro-local field,
but clearly focus on the macro-local unit 'region'.
The heterogeneity of these terms and their
spatial extension, the differences in theoretical
foundations and their fragmentary formulation, the
lack of a d e q u a t e measuring instruments (Krupat,
1983) and the related lack of empirical productivity
is probably responsible for the fact t h a t psychological research on place identity has not been
especially fruitful. This paper attempts to make
a contribution to the resolution of the abovementioned problems in two ways.
First, a systematic analysis of the theoretical
roots, but also of the less influential background of
work on place identity is presented. Second, the
paper systematizes theory and research in a new

285

286

M. L a l l i

way on the basis of constructs with clearly defined

spatial extension. It does not appear fruitful to work
exclusively with global constructs, such as 'place
identity'. The development of an adequate theoretical framework necessitates that the qualitatively
different structures and processes associated with
the various spatial scales are taken into account.
For example, a person's bond with his/her neighborhood can only be conceptualized in part in terms of
being analogous to their identification with the
town or city. It would therefore appear more useful
to employ concepts of medium theoretical range, as
will be demonstrated with respect to town or city
as an example. Therefore, 'place identity' will be
retained, b u t used throughout the remainder of
this paper solely as a superordinate term for the
various forms of identity related to place.
Furthermore, a particular aspect of place identity
which will be called 'urban-related identity' or 'urbanidentity (Proshansky, 1978) will be discussed. Both
theoretical considerations and empirical findings
will be presented. Finally, an instrument designed
to measure urban identification will be introduced.

Overview:

Theoretical
Traditions
Empirical
Findings

and

Environmental psychology did not deal explicitly

with the theoretical conceptualization and empirical
investigation of place identity until the late 1970s.
Four theoretical traditions influenced the psychological work on place identity. Although not all
these traditions have had the same impact on the
current (psychological) view of the topic, they have
all contributed to the understanding of place-related
identification and attachment. This is particularly
true for the field of urban-related identity which we
will turn to later in this paper.

The cognitive perspective

The work in this area comes from environmental
psychology, h u m a n geography and urban planning,
but traditionally this approach has been taken by
environmental psychologists.
Tolman (1948) was the first to hypothesize
complex cognitive representations ('cognitive maps')
as central for spatial behavior (and so abandoned
behaviorist stimulus-reaction patterns). Originally,
'cognitive map' was a broad term containing two
different aspects of the representation of the
environment, which were later differentiated (cf.
Schneider, 1990).
The orientation-related representation covers the

cognitive encoding of the spatial environment. This

research is geographical in origin (Gulliver, 1908;
Trowbridge, 1913), but became popular through the
work of the town planner Lynch. This tradition is
largely concerned with the study of the organization
and processing of information about orientation in
environments, for example, in towns, buildings or
building complexes. Today cognitive maps and mapping are seen as belonging primarily to this branch
of research.
The meaning-related representation covers the
functional, evaluative and symbolic aspects of the
environment. The term 'image' (Boulding, 1956)
used in this context includes the individuals' evaluation of the environment and is not a photographic
representation of it. The research in this part of the
field is very heterogeneous (cf. Moore, 1979) and can
not be easily summarized.
This differentiation reflects the aspects of 'whereness' (orientation) and 'whatness' (meaning) in
environmental cognition (Downs & Stea, 1977).
Although in the literature terms like 'cognitive map'
or 'image' are not always used in the same sense, 3
the proposed classification contributes to clarification (see Schneider, 1990).
Although Lynch (1960) pointed out that the legibility and imageability of the urban environment
contributes to the identification of it, the orientation-related part of environmental representation
is considered to be of less importance for place
identity. The evaluative and symbolic components
of the meaning-related representation have had
more influence on theory and research in the placeidentity literature.

The phenomenological perspective

This perspective has had a large impact on the work
on place identity, mainly due to the influence of
phenomenologically oriented h u m a n geographers
(Relph, 1976; Tuan, 1980).
The focus of the phenomenological approach is the
analysis of the intentional interaction of person and
environment (Graumann, 1990, p. 97). Intentional
environment (Taylor, 1964) means the world of
things, persons and events as experienced by the individual. According to this approach the environment:
. . is conceptualized as the intentional correlate of
the individual's cognitive, emotional, and behavioral activities The thrust of the phenomenological
approach is to treat the 'person-in-environment' complex as an indissoluble unit, refusing to
dichotomize it into a separate organism and a
separate environment described in physical terms.
(Schneider, 1986, p. 205).

Urban Identity
In this context the phenomenological methodology
is of interest in terms of its descriptive aspects.
According to Husserl (1950-1952), its aim is not
insight in a literal sense, but mental deliberation,
intuition. Description is important, not explanation
or analysis. Objective reality does not exist independently, but is that which is apparent. The main aim
is to describe the essence of things. This means that
the experience of reality is an experience of meanings. According to Shfitz (1962-1966), ' . . . the lifeworld is a universe of significance to u s . . . (Vol. 1,
p. 133). In the same volume, this basic notion is
applied poignantly to the subject under consideration: 'The place where I am living has no
significance for me as a geographical concept, but as
m y home'. (p. 164).
One of the consequences of this conception is that
the phenomenological oriented approaches to place
identity have emphasized the emotional attachment
to the environment. The state of identification with
the environment is largely unselfconscious and becomes aware when threatened (Fried, 1963; Relph,
1976; cf. Proshansky et al., 1983). For Tuan (1980),
'rootedness' is, from an objective point of view, the
length of stay in a particular place (p. 4). It is an
' . . . unreflective state of being in which the h u m a n
personality merges with its milieu' (p. 6). Rooted
individuals ' . . . are concerned with and proud of
their past' (p. 5). Relph (1976) describes 'home' as
'the central reference point of h u m a n existence'
(p. 20), the source of personal meaningfulness. The
relation between places and h u m a n existence is 'a
vital source of both individual and cultural identity
and security' (p. 43).
The phenomenological approach has proved fruitful
in at least two respects. On the one hand, it focuses on
the subjective experience of the environment. The
perspective offers insights into emotional, cognitive or
behavioral meanings of things, environment or
persons. The person has a relationship with the
physical environment which is experienced by him or
her and thus amenable to description. On the other
hand, this approach conceptualizes an unitary
person-environment relationship. Individuals are not
confronted with a reality 'out there', rather reality
becomes part of their experience. This relationship is
also implied by the German term 'Urn-Welt', i.e. the
world which belongs to somebody and not the world in
and of itself (Graumann, 1988).

287

can be traced back to sociological and social psychological self theories. Self-identity conceptions were
derived from (cognitive) self-concept theories and
applied to definitions of place identity. The work
of Proshansky (1978; Proshansky et al., 1983) and
the author has been strongly influenced by these
theories.
The theoretical roots are in symbolic interactionism (Mead, 1934) and cognitive self-concept
theories (James, 1890; Cooley, 1902; Gecas, 1982;
Hormuth, 1990). The self is the result of social differentiation processes which are mediated by social
experiences. These processes enable individuals to
distinguish between themselves, others and the
physical environment, and thus to develop a
self-concept. Self-concept can be understood as the
subjective representation of self. The primarily
cognitive oriented self-concept theories define selfconcept as a complex cognitive structure which
organizes self-referent cognitions, evaluations, convictions, etc. According to Mead, objects and places
have meanings which are shared by individuals
with whom one interacts and by reference groups.
Meanings are therefore intersubjective (Wilson,
1980). They symbolize social and cultural values,
rules and expectations, but also personal (social)
experiences. Place identity can be viewed as part of
self-identity. Self-identity comprises specific and
conscious convictions, interpretations and evaluations of oneself. Therefore, place identity is an
aspect of an individual's identity, comparable to
gender identity, political identity, or ethnic identity.
G r a u m a n n (1983) refers to multiple identities in
this context (see also Stryker, 1980), which become
more or less conscious and active according to the
situation.
This theoretical orientation raises two questions.
First, the relative importance of the different identity aspects and their interrelationship is unclear.
However, there are suggestions t h a t the significance of the physical environment or an individuals
identity is relatively minor (Hormuth & Lalli,
1986). Second, the emphasis on the cognitive
aspects of self-concept and self-identity has led to
cognitivistic conceptions of place identity, which
tend to neglect the emotional components of this
state. These aspects are only indirectly incorporable
via evaluative or quantitative measures.

Sociological influence
The self and self-concept theories
The third theoretical traditional which had significant impact on theorizing about place identity

The last theoretical perspective presented here

comes from the different sociological approaches
of urban sociology and social or h u m a n ecology.

288

M. Lalli

Although these traditions are of less importance

for psychological theorizing on place identity, they
have substantially influenced our understanding of
psychological processes concerning the town or city.
One early sociological perspective can be traced
back to the Durkheimian concept of social space
(Durkheim, 1893). Whereas the initial focus was
primarily on the social position of an individual in
social relations, groups and diverse social structures, i.e. on a subjective and sociological dimension, an explicitly objective-physical level was
introduced at the latest by Chombert de Lauwe
(1956). Durkheim viewed the development of the
concept of space as a cultural process; location is
imbued with 'sympathetic' values, it represents
parts of the societal value system. Treinen (1965)
describes .spatial relatedness as the result of a
symbolization process which comes about through
the association of social actions with situative
(spatial) characteristics. However, the significance
of the spatial-physical environment remains limited. The concrete influence of physical characteristics of actions, social structures and organizational
principles is hardly considered.
With respect to these last points it is necessary
to turn to a second sociological tradition, urban
sociology. In the last century the implications of
migration from the country together with urbanization caused by speedy industrialization were areas
of interest in research. The town or city became the
embodiment of all that was wrong with civilization.
Whereas rural structures were seen as a guarantee
for intact social relations, the urban individual
was exposed to a multitude of perils. Durkheim
mentions the less personal quality of relationships
in towns. Simmel (1903) argues that excessive stimuli encountered daily in urban environments lead to
the rational, cold and distanced behavior of residents.
Wirth (1938) put forward a similar argument. This
tradition is continued and joined in more recent
contributions by Mitscherlich (1965) and Milgram
(1970). Milgram extended the work of Wirth and
Simmel by describing city life as stimulus overload
which overtaxes the cognitive processing capacities
of residents. Distanced relationships and very
selective absorption of information were seen as the
consequences.
The negative image of the town, which has only
just started to gain more positive connotations ('new
urbanity', see, e.g. H~iuSermann & Siebel, 1987),
and the overstylized rural idyll, which embodies a
romantic notion of 'home' or 'Heimat '4 have had a
substantial influence on the treatment of placerelated and more of urban-related identity.

Research findings
This section examines the empirical approaches
taken in the place-identity literature. However, as
already mentioned, empirical research in this area
is sparse.
In terms of content, psychological research is
concerned with micro-local levels of place identity,
i.e. with the home, neighborhood, parts of towns or
cities, and the town itself, although the main focus
is on the locations at the beginning of this list.
Rivlin (1982) investigated the relation between
belonging to particular groups and bonds with
the neighborhood in a small case study. Rowles
(1983) specifies different aspects which define the
degree of rootedness of elderly residents in their
rural environment. He particularly emphasizes the
autobiographical significance of that environment.
Winter and Church (1984) point out positive relationships between emotional ties to a location and
political activity in the community. Reitzes (1986)
studied connections between different leisure
activities in downtowns and the perception, evaluation and identification with the urban environment.
Schneider and Graumann (1986) interviewed male
and female residents in large and medium-sized
towns, as well as individual town sections in various
field studies. Among other things, they content
analyzed the substances and perspectives of urban
environment descriptions. Findings of this research
project concerned with neighborhood and town
sections can be found in Schneider (1986). It was
demonstrated that biographical relations were
particularly prominent in residents' descriptions. In
addition, residents of newly built housing estates
tended towards defensive comparisons with other
parts of town.
This brief review shows that empirical projects
and findings are sparse. Further work does exist,
but cannot be described as primarily psychological
in focus.
The following section deals in some more detail
with studies concerned with the development of
place-related identity. Given that the psychological
literature in this area is all b u t plentiful, a number
of German investigations on the development of
'Heimatgeffihl' (emotional bond to 'Heimat') are also
introduced, which may well be relevant beyond the
German-speaking realm. These studies were mainly
carried out by sociologists and social geographers.
Even though their empirical findings tend to
be preliminary and their conclusions sometimes
speculative, they nevertheless constitute a valuable
heuristic framework for psychological research.

Urban Identity

One factor, which has received frequent attention

in the empirical literature as an influence on local
identification and which has also played an important role in the debate surrounding the term
'Heimat', is place of birth. Treinen (1965) suggests
that place of birth only carries significance for place
identity if a person has spent at least their childhood and adolescence there. Similarly, Becker and
Keim (1973), do not attach much relevance to place
of birth itself in terms of identification with it. They
reason that one's place of birth as 'Heimat' encompasses the entire social network within which a
person grows up. But integration with, growing
into, tbis environment is mainly determined from
outside through definitions provided by adults. Conscious identification processes can only take place
once a person's own long-term values, norms and
behavioral patterns are developed, which takes
place later. In that sense, place of birth has no
necessary connection with rootedness. It is the
reasoned decision to stay in that particular town
through which place of birth becomes a source of
identification.
In contrast, Lalli (1988) has shown that residents
who were born in a particular town identify more
with it than individuals born elsewhere, independently of length of residence. This difference
between individuals born and not born in a town
persists for several decades of residence, before it
loses statistical significance. The hypothesis can be
derived from these findings that the development
of place identity is probably not the sole product of
social experiences.
Empirical studies usually refer to the significance
of temporal factors. Relations with the physical and
social environment grow stronger with increasing
length of residence (Becker & Keim, 1973). Length
of residence is also seen as a determining factor for
the development of local identification by Treinen
(1965), KShler (1981), Thum (1981) and Lalli (1988).
According to Becker and Keim (1973), the intensity
of this relation is strengthened further if a monument or artefact with historical significance, which
has remained stable for some time, is part of
common memory for local groups. Bahrdt (1971)
put forward a similar argument, but relating
identification and a feeling of belonging to the individuality and uniqueness of a town, whereby uniqueness appears to apply most clearly to historical
centers. What is important in this context is the
long years of experiences 'witnessed' by such historical buildings, rather than their existence as such.
Gerson et al. (1977) judge the importance of length
of residence in isolation as insufficient to create an

289

emotional bond to a place. Only in connection with

social contacts length of residence is seen as a
relevant factor.
The notion t h a t social relationships are fundamental for the development of personal identity
in general and for local identity in particular
appears generally accepted (Gerson et al., 1977;
GSschel, 1984; Schneider, 1986). For example,
Treinen (1965) d e m o n s t r a t e d relationships between subjective well-being and the n u m b e r of
friends and acquaintances in the close vicinity.
Individuals with a large circle of friends and
acquaintances are more likely to attach emotional
significance to where they live t h a n individuals
without such circles. RomeiB-Stracke (1984) concludes t h a t social relationships in the residential
location and section of town (neighborhood, circles
of friends and acquaintances) constitute an import a n t basis for the development of a sense of
belonging to the place. Especially, lower socioeconomic s t r a t a families with children and elderly
residents were shown to rely strongly on close social contacts in the neighborhood (KShler, 1981;
RomeiB-Stracke, 1984). B u t there was also
evidence t h a t suggested t h a t the role of close
social relationships in the locality has been
overemphasized, or has to be defined differently in
new social conditions. It appears t h a t close sociallocal contacts are gradually dissolving to give w a y
to different p a t t e r n s of social relationships in
t e r m s of more casual social contacts in residential
and leisure areas (RomeiB-Stracke, 1984). T h u m
(1981) also illustrated empirically t h a t a certain
social distance, interpreted as independence from
restrictive social contacts, contributes to a bond
with one's living environment. If this distance
becomes too pronounced, however, it can t u r n into
isolation which is experienced negatively and
reduces identification.
A further factor which influences the emergence
of place identity as living in one's 'own home'
(Becker & Keim, 1973). These authors are of the
opinion that ownership of land exerts an even
stronger influence than owning a flat. Treinen
(1965) gave a similar assessment of this factor. The
question whether living in high-rise buildings can
offer any opportunity for local identification because
of the often encountered and lamented anonymity of
residents is also discussed in this context. The size
of a residential building, or the the number of rental
units, does not influence identification according to
Thum (1981). However, Treinen (1965) has argued
that an increasing number of flats in a house
is inversely proportionate to local identification.

290

M. Lalli

Becker and Keim (1973) view the quality of and

satisfaction with living quarters as a significant
influence on the identification process. The worse
living conditions are, the lower local identification
becomes. Three categories which appear to be connected with satisfaction emerge from investigations
in this area, namely size and arrangement of living
environment, sanitary appliances and residential
setting.
In the previously mentioned study, Lalli (1988)
found a relationship between positive evaluation of
urban quality and degree of identification with the
town. This finding was interpreted as evidence that
individuals who strongly identify with their town
also view it in more positive terms. RomeiB-Stracke
(1984) also mentions environmental characteristics,
such as smells and noises, which seem to symbolize
local identity in a very intense fashion. However, if
these characteristics exceed a certain critical level,
they can severely reduce personal identification
with the environment. Even the cleanliness of
a residential area can become a substantial basis
for the development or enhancement of a subjective feeling of rootedness (RomeiB-Stracke, 1984,
p. 51).
Another related and overlooked aspect is the
amount of choice individuals have about where
they live (Becker & Keim, 1973; Thum, 1981) and
the relationship between local identification and
decisions about social contacts (Gerson et al.,
1977). T h u m (1981) showed t h a t people who take
their residence for granted, i.e. they never h a d to
make a decision about it in either a positive or
negative w a y (including individuals who have
always lived in the same place), neither develop
local identification nor alienation. This is supported by historical evidence. For example, the
phenomenon 'Heimweh' (longing for one's 'Heimat'
when elsewhere), which was originally described
medically as 'melancholia', was not evident until
two centuries ago. This is connected with degrees
of individual and societal mobility. In addition,
this relates to choice and social contacts. Chosen
social contacts are most effective in eliciting feelings of belongingness, according to Gerson et al.
(1977).
Following this general overview of approaches
and empirical findings with respect to place related
identity, the second part of this paper is concerned
with an aspect of place identity which will be
termed 'urban identity' or 'urban-related identity'. A
theoretical framework will be presented which aims
at conceptualizing the special significance of towns
or cities for individuals' identity.

Theoretical Background

Urban development and identity

Traditionally, urban environments have not been
viewed as a suitable source for positive identification. On the contrary, the town was contrasted
negatively with the rural ideal. At that time, the
town as 'home' was hardly imaginable, only in a
romanticized form as idyllic university town
(e.g. Heidelberg). Rather, the town as industrial
center became a symbol for all that was wrong with
civilization in general (cf. Lehmann, 1983). Large
towns were seen as anonymous, claustrophobic,
removed from nature and, in short, as a source of
h u m a n alienation. They became the embodiment of
industrialized society with all its disadvantages. In
contrast, rural rustic life could offer intact social
relationships, lasting traditions, unity of production, distribution and reproduction and 'natural'
living conditions which provided, if not an easy
existence, then at least a sense of comfort and
security.
Since Mitscherlich (1965) l a m e n t e d the 'inhospitality' of towns two decades ago, u r b a n life has
gained considerable repute. And this is not only
the case for metropolises like Berlin, Paris or N e w
York, b u t also for 'normal' average sized towns.
How, then, did the town become a positive source
of identification? There are a variety of reasons for
this development. The discovery of the town can
be regarded as a consequence of the failed u r b a n
development policies of the post-war era. Rapidly
built up satellite towns and endless rows of
terraced houses in suburbs offered an improvement of living comfort on the one hand, b u t also introduced all the negative aspects of u r b a n living,
such as isolation and monotony. In addition, they
m e a n t long journeys to the work place and to
cultural centers. In that sense, the town center
fulfils a function similar to that formerly provided
by rural structures. In contrast to recent suburbs,
they have grown historically, are less anonymous
socially and offer a richer variety of cultural and
communal activities. Town people prefer short
distances and the heterogeneous social structure of
the grown town center. Moreover, the housing
situation in old parts of towns has improved
significantly through comprehensive restoration
programs.
Through this historical process of appropriating
the town as a living environment, it has become
possible to view it as a part of positive, individual
self-definition.

Urban Identity

Conceptual clarifications
Before presenting the theoretical position adopted
here, two central points have to be clarified. First,
a differentiation of the term 'identity' will be proposed. Second, the problem of geographical scaling
will be introduced and discussed.
A fundamental distinction has to be drawn
between subjective identity and the identity of the
place itself (cf. Schneider, 1986). The latter encompasses the special character of the location, its unmistakable uniqueness. This identity is not directly
derived from physical characteristics, but constitutes
a social construction which is founded in the perception of individuals and groups (Lalli & P15ger, 1991).
Although there is a close, reciprocal relationship
between these two aspects of identity, psychological theory development has emphasized the
subjective element, the viewpoint of the individual,
i.e. the identity of the person and identification with
place. The term place identity is used in this sense:
it refers to the relationship of the individual with a
place and not to the identity of a location itself.
The relation between these various aspects of
identity can be further clarified through a consideration of identity development. The first stage consists
of the process of identification, i.e. the perception,
Categorization and experience of similarity between
objects, individuals, groups or environments. With
respect to an urban environment, this means the
subjective reconstruction of the town or city. This
step does not imply the development of place
identity (by the individual) as a direct consequence,
b u t it certainly constitutes a necessary basis for it.
F u r t h e r processes are needed of 'identification with'
and 'being identified with' a town. This means a
partial equivalence of individuals and their urban
environment, or at least particular attributes of it.
The symbolic function of objects and environments
makes possible such an identification (Graumann,
1983, 313 ft.). Usually, this identification is carried
out by individuals themselves as well as by their
social surroundings. Only on this basis does it
become possible to consider certain points of
reference, such as spatial ones, in terms of selfdefinition, i.e. to view them as aspects of one's own
identity. A detailed discussion of these relations
can be found, for instance, in Graumann (1983). He
also explains the relationship between the terms
'identity' and 'identification':
The unity of a person is not naturally given but has
to be attained psychologically (by identification) and
maintained (as identity) in a continuous and often
conflictive process of socialization (Graumann,
1983, p. 315).

291

This quote indicates that 'identification' refers

primarily to acquisition, whereas the term 'identity'
characterizes a condition, or rather its maintenance.
The latter is what is meant by 'place identity'. In
the same sense, we will use in the following the
term 'urban identity', or, to stress the relational
aspect from the viewpoint of the individual, 'urbanrelated identity'.
The second point to clarify is the question of
spatial scaling. It has been argued that place
identity can be related to spaces at different levels.
We spoke of a continuum ranging from a microspatial level (e.g. 'home') to the macro-space of a
whole continent or even the world. It has been
pointed out that psychological theory and research
on place identity has been focused on the smaller
end of this continuum, the end of the micro-level.
One of the criticisms of this research was the
non-specific nature of the conceptualization of the
spatial extension of the term 'place'. It was argued
that an appropriate psychological place-identity
theory has to specify the spatial level examined
and to conceptualize the singular properties of the
persons relation to that special place construct. In
this sense it was proposed to keep the term 'place
identity' only as label for the research program as a
whole and to use more specific 'medium range
terms', as 'urban-related identity', for the different
conceptualizations of space-related identity.
Given this, how can the different spatial levels be
differentiated? Even if it is not possible to provide a
taxonomy of spatial scales, some propositions will
be made. In geography the problem of scaling is
very common (Haggett, 1979). One possible approach
to differentiating the size of objects is to introduce
'order of geographical magnitude' (Haggett, 1979,
p. 17). They can be defined as partitioning the
continuous size scale. For example, an area with the
diameter ranging between 105 and 106 cm (12.5 to
1.25 km) will be classified as fifth order of magnitude, an area with the diameter remaining between
106 and 107 cm (125 to 12.5 km) as fourth order of
magnitude and so on (pp. 18-19). This classification
seems inappropriate for psychology, because it can
be assumed, that psychologically important spatial
areas have to be meaningful categories for the
individuals interacting in and with them. The
second and more promising approach to spatial
scaling considers the individuals' experience of
space. The analysis of individual action spaces
(Jakle et al., 1976, p. 92 ff.) provides activity pattern
associated with the environment. The main movements undertaken are within and near the home,
to and from locations like work, shop, etc., and

292

M. Lalli

around those sites (p. 93). It seems possible to differentiate at least three partial levels connected
with individual action: home, neighborhood, and the
activity space as a whole. The structure of the latter
can vary depending on the individual involved and
the type of environment in which the person is
living (e.g. rural vs. urban or suburban vs. innercity environments; cf. Jakle et al., 1976, p. 98).
Beside these levels accessed primarily by the
individuals' locomotion, other spatial levels are
experienced by him or by her. The construction of
these levels is a more social one. The boundaries of
these spaces can be legal-administrational (town
quarter, town, region, nation) or socio-cultural ones
[community, vernacular region (cf. Zelinsky, 1980)].
This approach to classification of spatial levels is
tentative. It is imPortant to state that two processes
have to be included in a psychologically meaningful
scale. Both are led by the persons' experience. The
first is an idiosyncratic construction of space and
comes from the individuals' action in the environment. The second is a more social construction
derived from social communication. Both aspects do
not exclude each other, the social dimension is more
important for the larger areas at the 'wider' pole of
the spatial continuum. On the other hand, the home
and neighborhood are the more 'personal' and
directly experienced levels of space. In this sense,
the town or city is in the first place a social and
administrational entity. Parts of it will coincide
with the persons' activity space, other parts will
not. In turn, the activity space will probably overstep the area belonging to the town.
Spatial scaling is an underestimated problem in
place identity research. It is beyond the scope of
this research to provide a comprehensive solution
to it. Spatial levels have to be conceptualized using
categories of the individuals' life-world (Weichhart,
1990). Although some arguments for the urban
environment have been pointed out, further work
needs to be done.

Theoretical differentiations
The theoretical approach adopted here is strongly
influenced by the self-concept approach sketched
above. Some further differentiations will be discussed below.
'Urban-related identity' can be defined as part of
an individual's 'self-identity' analogous with arguments put forward by Proshansky et al. (1983) for
the concept of 'place identity'. 'Self-identity' can be
understood as a substructure of a more encompassing self-concept, the subjective representation of self.

The approach developed by Proshansky and his

collaborators will be discussed briefly, and then the
concept of 'urban-related identity' will be elaborated
in more detail. Proshansky et al. (1983) focus on the
functions of place identity for the individual. They
distinguish between (a) a 'recognition function',
which guarantees the perception of environmental
stability, (b) a 'meaning function', which indicates to
the person how to act, (c) an 'expressive-requirement function' which concerns the personal shaping
of the environment, (d) a 'mediating change
function' which determines the degree to which
the environment can be appropriated, and (e) an
'anxiety and defense function' which offers a sense
of security. These functions of place identity are
developed on the theoretical basis of cognitive
psychology and cognitive self-theories (Proshansky
et al., 1983, 58 ff.). The conception of place identity
as being part of self-identity goes far beyond the
approaches of human geographers mentioned above,
who were mainly concerned with the sense of
rootedness, of centeredness, of belonging to place.
Defining 'place identity' as a cognitive system,
Proshansky et al. (1983, p. 66) suggest the conceptualization of the properties of this 'special' cognitive
structure to be analogous to the functions of other
cognitive systems. Despite the fruitfulness of this
approach, the cognitive orientation of the approach
leads to a neglect of some social aspects of place
identity. These are first, the social reconstruction of
the identity of a place and the (social) process of
'being identified with' it. Second, the link between
the identity of the place and the identity of the
person, which can be seen as the end product of
identification, and third, the conditions necessary
for the development of place identity. The following
section attempts to integrate these points into a
theoretical framework.
Although the most important theoretical pieces
needed can be provided by the self-concept theories
sketched out above, a direct application of the
classic self-concept approaches to environmental
psychological concerns is problematic. In these
approaches, the environment as such plays a minor
role compared to social reality and exerts an indirect influence. More modern perspectives on selfconcept arrive at a more comprehensive integration
of relevant ~environmental aspects. H o r m u t h (1990)
developed a theory of the 'ecology of self'. This
ecological system of self encompasses other people,
objects, but also places. The significance of the environment lies in the fact that social experiences take
place within it and that it provides a framework for
behavior and action in a general way, but also in its

U r b a n Identity

function as a symbol of these very experiences.

Moreover, conceptualizing the self as embedded in
a total system makes an improved understanding
of its stability as well as change possible. It is
precisely the static conceptualizations of traditional
self-concept theories which have been repeatedly
criticized from an environmental psychological perspective (Proshansky et al., 1983, p. 59).
Analogous to the work by Proshansky et al.
(1983) on 'place identity', 'urban-related identity' is
defined as an aspect of the more comprehensive
'self-identity' of a person. In comparison with their
concept of 'place identity', the term 'urban-related
identity' is more locally specific and goes beyond the
'cognitive formulation' in several aspects which we
will now describe briefly.
According to various sociologists (cf. Buchwald,
1983), the main aspect of rootedness is the 'safety
in the family and circle of friends, amongst acquaintances and work colleagues; the name of the town is
only a symbol for these social contacts' (p. 220,
emphasis in original). However, in addition, a
further function o f place identity will be proposed
which does not directly result from the symbolization of social experiences. As discussed earlier, the
development of identity in general is the result of
differentiation between self and others. To view and
define oneself as a resident of a particular town also
fulfils a necessary function for distinguishing oneself from other people who do not live in that town,
but elsewhere. This is not only an abstract differentiation, but can be filled with concrete contents. The
person as a resident of a particular town acquires a
number of quasi-psychological characteristics which
are associated with that town. For example, a town
can be 'cosmopolitan' in contrast to other 'provincial'
towns, it can be 'affluent', 'traditional', 'warmhearted', 'industrious', 'clean', etc., whereas other
towns are scornfully dismissed as 'poor', 'monotonous', 'delapidated', 'cold' and so on. Thus, towns
have their own identity, also evaluated as 'image'
from outside, which 'rubs off' onto its residents and
gives them a certain personality.
A town's identity is not given objectively. The
identity of objects or environments is always an
identity as perceived by individuals or groups. It
is therefore the outcome of individual or social
constructions, or attributions. Self-enhancement of
residents is an important function of such identity
constructions. Many of the characteristics attributed to a town only exist in the perception of
residents. A town m a y be perceived as 'very green',
even if it is described as a 'stinking industrial town'
by inhabitants of other cities. These processes

293

reveal some parallels with those known from social

psychological work on groups. One's own group is
favored, coupled with discrimination against other
groups.
It m a y be argued generally then that urbanrelated identity also fulfils a function for the
residents' positive self-regard or self-esteem. In
addition, it provides a sense of fundamental uniqueness for the individual. A necessary condition for a
town to offer such a differentiation function is that
it is perceived as a 'special', 'different from other
towns' environment. The 'unique' attributes which
are necessary for such a definition are symbolized at
an abstract level by special characteristics of the
town. They concretize its uniqueness subjectively.
Buildings, geographical features (rivers, lakes, etc.),
b u t also cultural events (fairs, exhibitions, etc.) or
other peculiarities of the town can function as such
symbols, i.e. all those aspects which are typically
associated with it by large portions of inhabitants
(but also externally).
The difference between the general concept of
'place identity' and 'urban-related identity', as it is
understood here, can also be clarified through a
consideration of the function town districts fulfil for
residents' self-definition. At this level there are also
identification processes (Schneider, 1986), but these
have more specific contents. The subjective relation
to one's part of town is realized more directly via
concrete actions (e.g. flat, family, friends, shopping
facilities, etc.). The bond to a particular part of
town also contributes to one's differentiation from
residents in other town areas. A part of town has a
specific social, economic and esthetic identity which
serves to differentiate simultaneously the positive
self-definition of its residents from all other town
inhabitants.
In contrast, the town as a whole fulfils a more
global function, which is not only directly derived
from action or locomotion in the environment. The
social construction of the identificatory relationship
with the town is of major importance. As pointed
out above, place identity can be seen as dependent
on different levels of spatial scaling. It is felt that
the cognitive approach developed by Proshansky et
al. (1983) is of more significance for the conceptualization of place-related identity on a smaller scale,
i.e. the action space. At the level of the town or city,
the other functions described gain prominence. This
point appears to be the most important difference
between the concept of 'urban-related identity' and
'place identity' as formulated by Proshansky et al.
(1983).
On the basis of these considerations a theoretical

294

M. Lalli

clarification of 'urban-related identity' becomes

possible.
Urban-related identity, as an aspect of an
individual's more comprehensive self-identity, is
the result of a complex association between self and
urban environment. The town becomes the general
symbol of an individual's wealth of personal experiences. However, it is not simply a reflection of these
experiences, b u t provides a sense of subjective
temporal continuity for the person, which becomes
gradually more independent of this backdrop of
concrete experiences. This contributes to individuals
gaining a sense of stability and continuity which is
independent from actual day-to-day experiences.
The town provides an identity-enhancing context
for one's biography, and thus a continuity which is
relatively independent from definite (e.g. social)
changes. Such processes are involved in all aspects
of self-identity, and are also provided by other
identity-relevant factors, such as social relationships (family, partner, etc.) or a person's profession.
The second central function of urban-related
identity is to differentiate residents from other
individuals. This sense of belongingness does not
only lead to the perception of 'being different', but it
also imbues an individual with specific attributes
which are associated with the town in question.
These attributions consist of a mesh of external
(other) and self-attributions, b u t differentiation
from others means a sense of community at the
same time. Belonging to a certain place produces a
sense of 'we' and provides the comfort and security
of a social group. The name of the town and
particularly notable and unique characteristics of
the urban environment become global symbols of
these processes.

Measurement: The Urban-identity Scale

The point of departure for the development of
the scale was a study carried out in Mannheim
(Lalli & Thomas, 1988, 1989). This investigation
consisted of an evaluation of different proposed
measures in the context of town planning. It started
from the hypothesis that agreement or disagreement with various measures would depend on
perceived quality of urban life in the respective
areas. For example, residents who favored the
construction of cycle paths were thought to be
individuals who believed that existing arrangements for cyclistics were insufficient. Furthermore,
it was expected that identification with the town
would constitute an important moderating variable.

Operationalization
A review of the relevant literature showed that the
existing approaches to investigating place identity
were heterogeneous. Suitable operationalizations
of constructs could not be found. Rootedness was
either investigated in a very global w a y ('How
closely related to this town do you feel?') or explored
in lengthy interviews. Specific and easily employable measuring instruments did not exist.
Although a theoretical distinction can be drawn
between urban-related identity and identification
with a town, as indicated earlier, the present
empirical operationalization follows a more global
conception. On the one hand, the scale was not
designed to record the contents of urban-related
identity--qualitative approaches are more suitable
for such an endeavour, while the separate measurement of identification and the significance of identity
appeared too artificial, since both aspects are
simply different perspectives on the same subject
matter. An empirical differentiation between these
two aspects also seemed fairly irrelevant in terms
of research aims, given that the current level of
theoretical development does not allow for the
derivation of contrasting hypotheses. The term
'degree of identification' and similar notions will
be used in the following section for reasons of
terminological simplicity. It would be more precise
theoretically to talk about the significance of urbanrelated identity and the extent of identification with
the town.
Five dimensions of urban-related identity were
operationalized. These dimensions were derived
from the theoretical approach developed above.
The subscale external evaluation (EVALUATION)
covers the function of residents' self-enhancement.
It contains evaluative comparison between own town
and others, and the town's perceived uniqueness
and special character.
The dimension continuity with personal past
(CONTINUITY) collects the significance of the
urban environment for the sense of subjective
temporal continuity. It reflects the hypothesized
connection between own biography and the town,
the symbolization of personal experiences.
General attachment (ATTACHMENT) contains
more unspecific items and aims at the m e a s u r e m e n t
of a general sense of being at home in the town. It is
the belongingness or rootedness as described by the
widespread literature reviewed.
The subscale perception of familiarity (FAMILIARITY) covers the effects of the daily experiences
in the town. Familiarity is assumed to be the result

Urban Identity

of the actions undertaken in the urban environment. In this sense it is an expression of a successful cognitive orientation.
The subscale c o m m i t m e n t (COMMITMENT)
finally, asks for the perceived significance of the
town for personal future, the commitment to
'want to stay'. Personal commitments are of central
importance for the stability of self-concept as
pointed out by the theories sketched above.
The subscales proposed seem to cover the most
important aspects of the functions of urban-related
identity sketched out in the theory section of this
paper. The focus of operationalization was, as
argued theoretically, on the social functions of
identity. The cognitive elements of place identity
are incorporated only indirectly mainly in the
subscale 'perception of familiarity', but this seems
adequate for the level of urban-related identity.
The presented instrument was designed to measure urban-related identity. The operationalization
of other spatial levels of place identity is not the
object of this contribution. Some aspects could
probably be designed parallel to the considerations
above, others could not. More work needs to be
done.
Individual items of the Urban Identity Scale are
given in the Appendix. Subjects had to rate the
items at a five-point Likert-like scale with extremes
ranging from 'disagree completely' to 'agree completely'.
The above is the most recent version of the
scale which was tested in two investigations in
Heidelberg using two samples (telephone survey
using a random sample, but representative of
residential areas, n = 130 (P15ger & Lalli, unpublishedS); personal administration study, n = 91).
Methodological quality
Methodological quality was assessed by descriptive
measures and reliability criteria. These are summarized in Tables 1-4. The methodological quality
of the scale is generally good. The reliability figures

295

TABLE 1
Analysis of the total scale
Descriptive statistics

n = 198

n = 130

No. of subsets
Total number of items
Mean total
Dispersion

4
16
53.87
13.61

5
20
67.23
17-57

0-92
0.94
0.61

0.94
0.95
0.65

Reliability
Standard estimate
Spearman-Brown
Mean test intercorrelation

for the total scale particularly the ATTACHMENT

subscale are impressive. The figures for the subscales EVALUATION and CONTINUITY are not as
satisfactory, they are around '0.70' before adjustment. The values for discriminative power of subscales were also satisfactory, although the figure for
EVALUATION is slightly lower t h a n the others.
The intercorrelation matrix illustrates t h a t all the
subscales correlate with each other relatively highly.
This is particularly true for the subscale ATTACHMENT. This finding implies t h a t the separate
administration of this subscale in investigations
which are interested only in general identification is
meaningful and valid. In line with expectations, the
subscale EVALUATION is least correlated with the
other subscales, which implies the special status of
the identity aspect 'external evaluation'. On the
whole, the scale emerges as a suitable research
instrument.
Several findings concerning its validity will be described briefly. The following results refer to the
above two studies in Heidelberg with a total of 200
participants, but replicate the Mannheim findings.
Of interest are the relations between time spent
in the town, i.e. length of residence, and degree
of identification. Figure 1 illustrates a consistent
increase of identification over time. Length of

TABLE 2

Subscale values (n = 198)

No. of items
Mean total
Dispersion
Discriminative power
Discriminative power*
* Sample: n = 130.

EVALUATION

FAMILIARITY

ATTACHMENT

CONTINUITY

COMMITMENT

4
14.97
2.99
0.52
0.58

4
13-79
3.72
0.81
0.81

4
12.89
5.10
0.78
0.85

4
12.23
4.28
0.69
0.74

4
13.36
4-49
0-81

296

M. Lalli

TABLE 3
Reliability (n = 198)

EVALUATION
Cronbach's alpha
Bias-corrected (Kristof)

FAMILIARITY

0.68
0.89

ATTACHMENT

0.74
0.91

0.92
0.97

CONTINUITY

COMMITMENT

0.72
0.91

0.85
0-95

* Sample: n = 130.

TABLE 4
Intercorrelation of subsets

n = 198 (n = 130 for COMMITMENT)

FAMILIARITY

ATTACHMENT

CONTINUITY

COMMITMENT

0.48

0-51
0.80

0.38
0.67
0.70

0.56
0.71
0-82
0.70

EVALUATION
FAMILIARITY
ATTACHMENT
CONTINUITY
* Sample: n = 130.

r e s i d e n c e e x p l a i n s m o r e t h a n 50% of t h e t o t a l
scale v a r i a n c e , w h i c h m e a n s t h a t it is a v e r y good
i n d i c a t o r for identification. A c o n s i d e r a t i o n of t h e
s u b s c a l e findings leads to a m o r e d i f f e r e n t i a t e d
picture. T h e s u b s c a l e ' g e n e r a l a t t a c h m e n t ' is highly
s e n s i t i v e to l e n g t h of r e s i d e n c e as w a s expected.
I t s e e m s r e a s o n a b l e to a s s u m e t h a t ' g e n e r a l
a t t a c h m e n t ' , as a f u n d a m e n t a l e x p r e s s i o n of t h e
significance of u r b a n - r e l a t e d identity, develops relatively slowly. I n c o n t r a s t , positive p e r c e p t i o n of t h e
t o w n a n d its u n i q u e n e s s as m e a s u r e d b y t h e subscale ' e x t e r n a l e v a l u a t i o n ' , should h a v e a p p e a r e d
r e l a t i v e l y early. T h i s would be p a r t i c u l a r l y t r u e for

t o w n s like H e i d e l b e r g w h i c h a r e r e g a r d e d in a v e r y
positive light also b y n o n - r e s i d e n t s . I f one t r a c e s t h e
t e m p o r a l d e v e l o p m e n t of this s u b s c a l e in d i f f e r e n t
towns, c h a r a c t e r i s t i c differences e m e r g e . I t is
e v i d e n t t h a t H e i d e l b e r g would f a r e b e t t e r in t h i s
context t h a n a n i n d u s t r i a l t o w n like M a n n h e i m .
T h e figures for H e i d e l b e r g a r e c o n s i s t e n t l y higher,
t h e c u r v e is f l a t t e r a n d s t a r t s a t a h i g h e r level.
A c o m p a r i s o n of i n d i v i d u a l s who w e r e b o r n a n d
not b o r n in t h e t o w n led to t h e following results.
T o w n - b o r n i n d i v i d u a l s show g r e a t e r identification.
T h i s difference is m o s t p r o n o u n c e d w i t h r e s p e c t to
t h e s u b s c a l e A T T A C H M E N T (see T a b l e 5, m o d e l 1).

i/11~ I1----I17I ~ O ~

./.I.

0
",=

/
1'

FIGURE 1.

10

20
30
40
50
60
Length of residence in years
Identification over time. Subscales: external evaluation ( , ) vs. general attachment (0).

Urban

TABLE5

Identification and length of residence by place of birth

Place of birth

Heidelberg
Near Heidelberg
Other

27
18
85

ATTACHMENT Length of
residence
4.21 A
3.46 B
3.11 B

38-04 A
17.17 B
13.38 B

AB: Values with the same letter do not differ significantly.

Model 1: Main effect for identification: F2,127 = 16.69;
p < 0.0001.
Model 2: Main effect for identification with length of
residence as a covariate: F2,12 6 -- 1-62; N.S.
Covariate length of residence: F2,126= 35.97; p < 0.0001.
Identification: 5 = high; 1 = low; residence in years.

But it has to be noted t h a t town-born individuals

tended to have lived in town for almost twice as
long as other participants. If length of residence is
statistically controlled for, differences with respect
to the total scale as well as all subscales disappear
(Table 5, model 2). The latter finding is surprising
in so far as the earlier study carried out in
M a n n h eim did provide evidence for differences.
Sample size may be a possible explanation, since
200 subjects participated in the M a n n h e i m study as
compared to only 130 in Heidelberg. F u r t h e r m o r e ,
it seems t h a t a larger sample is needed to provide
evidence for such a relatively small effect, but a
f u r t h e r indication t h a t the hypothesis t h a t place
of birth influences the intensity of identification
independently of length of residence is correct,
comes from the analysis of a particularly sensitive
item of the U r b a n Identity Scale. Participants born
in Heidelberg are more inclined to agree with the
s t a t e m e n t 'Heidelberg is my home' (Heimat) t h a n
people born elsewhere, regardless of length of
residence. The influence of length of residence and
place of birth on the intensity of identification can
be viewed as a classic research finding in the area.

297

Identity

In the early 1960s the Royal Commission on Local

G o v e r n m e n t in England and Wales came up with
very similar findings (as cited by Relph, 1976,
p. 31). The replication of these relationships in the
above investigation can be regarded as an indication of the validity of the scale.
F u r t h e r insights into its validity are provided by
the analysis of a set of questions which addressed
the perceived significance of different spatial
aspects of the town. Participants in Heidelberg
rat ed the significance of t he following four aspects:
(1) the town as a whole, (2) the q u a r t e r of town th e y
lived in, (3) direct neighborhood, and (4) notable
artefacts. In Heidelberg, for example,the last point
encompassed the castle, the Old Bridge, the main
road, the river Neckar, and so on. If the scale does
actually tap identification with the town, relationships with the perceived significance of the town
as a whole would be expected. The above four local
aspects were entered into a multiple regression
analysis as predictors for the different scale dimensions. Table 6 shows t h a t the perceived significance
of the town as a whole is a significant predictor
for both ratings on the total scale and all subscales. Perceived significance of residential district
or q u a r t e r did not exert any influence, hence its
omission from Table 6. The perceived importance
of the neighborhood and particular town characteristics were not related to general intensity of
identification. However, two subscale findings
emerged which are interesting. First, individuals
who evaluated their neighborhood as i m p o r t a n t also
attached particular significance to their future in
the town. This m ay be related to t he fact t h a t these
individuals often owned t hei r own homes. Second,
the subscale 'external evaluation' was related to the
perceived significance of particular town characteristics. This finding is also easily interpretable, if
it is r e m e m b e r e d t h a t external evaluation is often
communicated through specific symbols which
characterize the town.

TABLE 6

Importance of urban local aspects as predictors for identification (multiple regression)

Measures of
identification
Total scale
ATTACHMENT
CONTINUITY
EVALUATION
FAMILIARITY
COMMITMENT

Town as whole

Neighborhood

beta

p <

r2

beta

0.35
0.49
0.30
0-21
0.23
0.45

0.0001
0.0001
0.001
0.001
0.01
0.0001

0.17
0.17
0-09
0.08
0-07
0.18

-----0.17

Characteristics

p <

r2

beta

--

--

0.17

0.01

0.05

0.05

0.03

--

--

--

<

r2

298

M. Lalli

Further Findings
This section will initially discuss findings which
relate identification with the town to a variety of
other variables relevant to urban perception and
cognition. Subsequently, those variables will be
considered which may influence the development of
urban-related identity.

Urban quality perception

The earlier investigation in Mannheim demonstrated t h a t a high degree of identification is related
to a more positive evaluation of urban quality. This
result was replicated in the Heidelberg study.
Although 'urban quality' can be defined in very
different ways, it will be understood in this context
as a multi-dimensional construct, in line with Liu's
arguments (1974). It encompasses diverse aspects of
the town and urban life. In the Heidelberg study,
participants were asked to rate 13 such aspects.
Findings are displayed in Table 7. Highly-identified
participants consistently assessed urban quality in
more positive terms. Exceptions are the housing
and employment situation, although a tendency in
t h a t direction was found. This exception appears
plausible at first sight, since it is acknowledged t h a t
these areas are generally regarded as problematic.
However, if it is considered t h a t the quality of the
environment is often surrounded by the largest
differences in opinion, the obvious plausibility of
this explanation has to be qualified. It may be the
case t h a t environmental problems are regarded by
'high identifiers' as those problems which plague
other towns and regions, rather t h a n their own.
This may not be quite so true for the housing and
TABLE7

Total identification by perceived urban quality

Aspects of the town

Identification

Significance

low

high

Housing
Employment
Shopping facilities
Traffic
Leisure and culture
Educational facilities
Environment (pollution)
Medical and social care

1.85
2.55
3.36
2.45
3.38
3.97
2.67
3.80

2-03
2.67
3.77
2.92
3.78
4.22
3.34
4.20

p
p
p
p
p
p

Average

3-00

3.37

p < 0-001

N.S.
N.S.
< 0.05
< 0.05
< 0-05
< 0.10
< 0.0001
< 0.01

(Means: 5 = very good, 1 = very poor. Factor levels: low

(n = 66), vs. high (n = 64).

employment situation since their indicators are

more 'objective' and can be experienced more
directly. The relationship between identification
and perceived urban quality remains, even when
age and/or length of residence are controlled for.
Although the causal direction of influence cannot
be determined unambiguously, various factors
seem to suggest t h a t identification leads to positive
evaluation and not vice versa, as m a y have been
hypothesized.

Local political engagement

A further area which m a y offer insights into the
relevance of local identity and identification is the
relationship between identification with the town
and local political activity. Winter and Church
(1984) propose t h a t a highly-identified individual is
also more likely to be involved with the concerns of
their town. Although this issue was not investigated
directly in the studies described here, they nevertheless included variables which provide suggestive
evidence with respect to this relationship. As a part
of the questionnaire respondents were asked to rate
their general satisfaction with local government
and local politics. Figure 2 displays the results of an
analysis of variance (ANOVA) which used general
identification (high/low) and perceived urban quality
(high/low) as independent variables. Satisfaction
with local politics was the dependent variable.
The analysis yielded two significant main effects,
but no interaction. People with a positive outlook on
urban quality were more satisfied with local government effort t h a n those who held a comparatively
negative opinion about the town. Similar findings
emerged for high as compared to low identifiers. In
addition, high identification led to greater satisfaction with local politics. It may be concluded from
these results t h a t local identification and positive
evaluation of urban quality exert a similarly strong
influence on satisfaction with local government. It
has to be borne in mind t h a t the direction of causality would still need to be clarified. With respect to
the question raised above concerning local political
activity it could be concluded t h a t high identification should be inversely related to political activity if satisfaction is interpreted as an indicator t h a t
less subjective importance is attached to changes or
participation.

Development of urban-related identity

The last section of the reported findings deals with
variables which may clarify the development of local

Urban

identity

299

3-48

HI

LI

I
LQ

f
HO

FIGURE 2. Satisfaction with local politics by total identification and perceived urban quality (means: 5 = very good, 1 -- very poor).
LQ, low perceived urban quality n(LQ, NI) = 51; HQ, high perceived urban quality n(LQ, HI) = 35; LI, low identification n(HQ, NI) =
15; HI, high identification n(HQ, NI) = 29. Main effect for perceived urban quality: F(1, 126) = 26.64; p < 0.0001. Main effect for
identification: F(1,126) = 8-54;p = 0.005.

identification. Three questions will be considered in

turn: Do relationships exist between identification
a n d (1) s o c i o - e c o n o m i c s t a t u s o r e d u c a t i o n a l l e v e l ,
(2) t y p e o f h o m e o w n e r s h i p , a n d (3) i n t r a - t o w n
mobility (number of intra-town changes of address).
T h e s e r e l a t i o n s h i p s a r e i n t e r e s t i n g i n so f a r a s t h e
psychological, geographical and sociological literature either presents relevant findings or at least
e x p e c t a t i o n s . I t is a s s u m e d t h a t l o w s o c i o - e c o n o m i c

TABLE 8

s t a t u s is r e l a t e d to h i g h i d e n t i f i c a t i o n . L i v i n g i n
o n e ' s o w n h o u s e is a l s o t h o u g h t to i n c r e a s e r o o t e d ness (see above). In an investigation of intra-town
'movers',
Hormuth
(1990)
found
that
more
m o b i l e i n d i v i d u a l s a t t a c h m o r e i m p o r t a n c e to t h e
u r b a n e n v i r o n m e n t . T h i s w o u l d l e a d to h y p o t h e s e s
that
such individuals
are also more highly
identified with the town. Tables 8-10 summarize
the relevant results.
Although all three hypotheses were supported
i n i t i a l l y ( m o d e l 1), l e n g t h o f r e s i d e n c e a s a c o v a r i a t e

Total identification and length of residence by educational

qualifications
Educational
qualifiications*

Identification

L e n g t h of
residence

TABLE 9

Total identification and length of residence by type of

housing
Type of h o u s i n g

P r i m a r y education
'O' levels
'A' levels
Degree

21
29
51
28

3.96
3.39
3.03
3.44

A
B
B
B

35.14
18.66
14.80
15.40

A
B
B
B

* G e r m a n equivalent.
AB: Values w i t h the s a m e letters do not differ significantly.
Model 1: M a i n effect for identification: F3,125 = 6-15;
p < 0.001.
Model 2: M a i n effect for identification with length of
residence as covariate: F3,12 4 = 2.14; p < 0.10.
Covariate: F3,12 4 -- 55.66;p < 0-0001.
(Identification: 5 = high, 1 = low, residence in years).

Own house
Own flat
Rented

Identification

L e n g t h of
residence

18
10
102

3.94 A
3.24 B
3.25 B

34.44 A
20.40 B
16.17 B

AB: Values with the s a m e letters do not differ significantly.

Model 1: M a i n effect for identification: F2,127 = 4.81;
p < 0-01.
Model 2: M a i n effect for identification with length of
residence as covariate: F2,126 = 0-38; N.s. Covariate:
F1,126 = 60.88;p < 0.0001.
(Identification: 5 = high, 1 = low, residence in years).

300

M. Lalli

TABLE10
Identification (continuity with personal past) and length
of residence by inner-city mobility
Inner city mobility

CONTINUITY

Length of
residence

No moves
One or more moves

53
77

2.71 A
3.36 B

14.70 A
22.01 B

AB: Values with the same letters do not differ significantly.

Model 1: Main effect for CONTINUITY: F l , 1 2 8 -- 11-81;
p < 0-001.
Model 2: Main effect for identification with length of
residence as covariate: F1.127= 5.73; p < 0-02. Covariate:
F1.127 = 54.92;p < 0.0001.
(Identification: 5 = high, 1 = low, residence in years).
(model 2) again highlights some important limitations. Highly educated individuals and non-homeowners were much more mobile t h a n comparison
groups, as could be expected. High identification is
therefore substantially accounted for by greater
length of residence, but the recognizable tendency
for educational qualifications (p < 0.10) suggests
t h a t significant results would have been obtained
for larger samples. The effect of intra-town mobility
on the strength of local identification remains even
after controlling for length of residence. Intra-town
moves strengthen identification independently of
length of residence, even though more mobile individuals have lived longer in town, as was expected.
These findings complement those in Table 6 which
highlighted t h a t what is important for high identification is the town as a whole (and not different
residential areas within it). Intra-town mobility
obviously leads to a more comprehensive experience
of the town as a whole.

Conclusions

The present discussion started from the statement

t h a t place-related identity is viewed as an interdisciplinary and environmental psychologically
relevant research area, but has not received much
empirical attention. This is not so much due to lack
of theoretical conceptualization, given t h a t the work
of Proshansky and his collaborators provides
relevant foundations. Rather, two main problem
areas were identified as responsible for the insufficient research application of approaches: lack
of spatial specificity of place identity and (partly
resulting from this) a lack of empirical operationalization.

The usefulness of an exclusive focus on global

constructs, such as 'place identity', was questioned.
Rather, 'place identity' should function as a
superordinate category for a particular research
paradigm. The metatheoretical foundation of this
field should take place at such a global level. This
paper proposed a theoretical conception which is
closely associated with more recent social psychological self-concept theories, but as soon as a
concrete research area is addressed as a further
step, differentiation and specialization are vital.
Each different spatial scale level, for which place
identity may be manifest, needs its own theoretical
account and specific empirical operationalization.
This was illustrated with 'urban-related identity' as
an example.
The main aim of the described approach was
to apply social and environmental psychological
theory development to urban-related identity. This
meant t h a t other relevant environmental aspects,
such as the home, neighborhood or region, were
not taken into account. Nevertheless, this focus
appeared useful, given t h a t specialization with
respect to a particular spatial-psychological area is
a necessary condition for adequate empirical investigation--which was illustrated with the town as an
example.
From a methodological point of view, the reported
research demonstrates t h a t the importance of
urban identity or the degree of identification with
a town can be operationalized and measured in a
differentiated way. The methodological quality of
the scale developed for this purpose makes it
possible to employ it in the study of diverse issues
within this research field. To demonstrate these
points was a further aim of the present contribution.
Of course, the reported findings leave m a n y
questions unanswered. Extensive longitudinal
studies would be necessary to provide detailed
evidence about the developmental conditions of
local identity and its effect on the perception of and
activity within urban environments. Nevertheless,
the current results offer useful insights into diverse
relationships and proved suitable for a reassessment of the empirical evidence reported to date.
Length of residence so far neglected, appears as a
significant factor in this context. As long as the
factors which are responsible for the identityenhancing effect of length of residence are not
clearly established, it needs to be controlled for
experimentally and statistically.
Finally, a point must be raised which is of
particular importance for interdisciplinary dialog.

Urban Identity
T h e q u e s t i o n w h e t h e r s p a t i a l - p h y s i c a l environm e n t s are r e l e v a n t for h u m a n i d e n t i t y can be
a n s w e r e d u n e q u i v o c a l l y in t h e a f f i r m a t i v e b y
psychology. T h e criticism, r a i s e d b y some social
g e o g r a p h e r s , t h a t regional i d e n t i t y is n o t h i n g b u t
t h e r e s u l t of social c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d t h e r e f o r e
not accessible via spatial c a t e g o r i e s ( H a r d , 1987)
is s h o r t s i g h t e d . Of course, i d e n t i t y in a social
scientific s e n s e is t h e r e s u l t of a social c o n s t r u c t i o n
process, as i n d i c a t e d above. B u t it m u s t not be
overlooked t h a t p h y s i c a l - s p a t i a l c i r c u m s t a n c e s
affect t h e course a n d c o n t e n t s of such social construction. Thus, they constitute important determ i n a n t s w h i c h are accessible t h r o u g h t h e m e a s u r ing i n s t r u m e n t s of social g e o g r a p h y a n d could
be u s e f u l l y a d d r e s s e d w i t h i n i n t e r - d i s c i p l i n a r y
dialog, p a r t i c u l a r l y since g e o g r a p h i c a l spaces are
not u s u a l l y a subject m a t t e r for psychology.
F r o m the psychology viewpoint it can be concluded t h a t t h e physical e n v i r o n m e n t plays a
significant role for t h e i d e n t i t y of individuals. B u t
its relative i m p o r t a n c e for self-identity as a whole
needs clarification. I t also b e c a m e clear t h a t rootedness is not a n inter- or i n t r a - i n d i v i d u a l l y given and
stable entity. It m a y be more or less pronounced,
i.e. t h e r e are individual differences as well as
c h a n g e s which d e p e n d on a v a r i e t y of factors. It
is precisely t h e s e different conditions a n d t h e i r
implications for t h e e m e r g e n c e and d e v e l o p m e n t
of identification with e n v i r o n m e n t a l aspects which
is empirically relevant. F u r t h e r insights m a y be
a i m e d t h r o u g h r e s e a r c h from a d e v e l o p m e n t a l
perspective (cf. P r o s h a n s k y & Fabian, 1987; Keller,
1988).
This p a p e r provided a n overview of the psychological l i t e r a t u r e on place identity, discussed its
theoretical roots, a n d indicated ways for a d e q u a t e
t h e o r e t i c a l a n d methodological developments, u s i n g
t h e town as a n example. Different issues were
e x a m i n e d in conjunction with q u a s i - e x p e r i m e n t a l
methodological procedures. Despite the p r e l i m i n a r y
a n d illustrative n a t u r e of some of t h e findings,
t h e y n e v e r t h e l e s s outlined the r e s e a r c h t h e m e s
which n e e d to be a d d r e s s e d f u r t h e r by, for example,
longitudinal studies or investigations with specially
selected samples.

Acknowledgments
T h e a u t h o r is g r a t e f u l to H e l g a D i t t m a r t r a n s l a t i n g
the p a p e r a n d t o Clare Twigger for h e r
a s s i s t a n c e in correcting the English m a n u s c r i p t for
publication.

301
Notes

(1) Address correspondence to: Dr M. Lalli, Fachbereich

Sozial- und Kulturwissenschaften, FH Darmstadt, SchSfferstrai]e 1, D-6100 Darmstadt, Germany.
(2) The English distinction between 'city' and 'town' does
not exist in German, both are encompassed by the term
'Stadt'. For this reason 'town' and 'city' will be used
interchangeably throughout this paper.
(3) For Downs and Stea (1977) the cognitive map
contains both orientation and meaning. The meaningrelated term 'image' is used by Lynch (1960) referring to
spatial encoding.
(4) The German term 'Heimat', for which no adequate
English translation exists (something like 'native place'),
carries a variety of connotations which range from
country of birth, to region, to indigenous, intact rural
structures.
(5) P15ger, W. & Lalli, M. (1988). Selbstdarstellung der
Stadt Heidelberg. Image und lokale Identifikation. Unpublished data, Psychologisches Institut der Universitfit
Heidelberg.

References
Bahrdt, H. P. (1971). Humaner Stadtebau. {Jberlegungen zur
Wohnungspolitik und Stadtplanung far eine nahe Zukunft.

Hamburg: Wegner,,
Becker, H. & Keim, K. D. (1973). Wahrnehmung in der stadtischen
Umwelt-MSglicher Impuls f~r kollektives Handeln. Berlin:
Kiepert.
Blotevogel, H. H., Heinritz, G. & Popp, H. (1986). Regionalbewugtsein. Berichte zur deutschen Landeskunde, 60, 103114.
Boulding, K. E. (1956). The Image. Ann Arbor, MI: University of
Chicago Press.
Buchwald, K. (1983). Heimat heute: Wege aus der Entfremdung.
Der B~rger im Staat, 33,219-226.
Buttimer, A. (1980). Home, reach, and the sense of place. In
A. Buttimer & D. Seamon, Eds., The Human Experience of
Space and Place. London: Croom Helm, pp. 167-187.
Chombart de Lauwe, P. H. (156). La vie Quotidienne de Familles
Ouvri~res. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.
Cooley, C. H. (1902). Human Nature and the Social Order.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
Dovey, K. (1985). Home and homelessness. In J. Altman & C. M.
Werner, Eds, Home Environments. New York: Plenum Press,
pp. 33-64.
Downs, R. M. & Stea, D. (Eds) (1973). Image and Environment.
Cognitive Mapping and Spatial Behavior. Chicago, IL: Aldine.
Downs, R. M. & Stea, D. (1977). Maps in Minds. Reflections on
Cognitive Mapping. New York: Harper & Row.
Durkheim, E. (1893). De la Division du Travail Social. Paris:
Alcan.
Fried, M. (1963). Grieving for a lost home. In Duhl, L. J,, Ed., The
Urban Condition. New York: Simon & Schuster, pp. 151-171.
Gecas, V. (1982). The self-concept.Annual Review of Sociology, 8,
1-33.
Gerson, K., Stueve, C. A. & Fischer, C. S. (1977). Attachment to
place. In C. S. Fischer, Ed., Networks and Places. New York:
The Free Press, pp. 139-161.
GSschel, A. (1984). Lokale Identit~it als Element der Stadtentwicklung. Stuttgart, Forschungsbericht: Informationszentrum
f~ir Raum und Bau. Frauenhofer Gesellschaft, IRB., T. 1410.

302

M. Lalli

Graumann, C. F. (1983). On multiple identities. International

Social Science Journal, 35, 309-321.
Graumann, C. F. (1988). Towards a phenomenology of being at
home. In H. van Hoogdalen, N. L. Prak, T. J. M. van der
Voordt & H. B. R. van Wegen, Eds., Looking Back to the Future.
Proceedings of the Tenth Biennial Conference of the IAPS.
Delft: Delft University Press, Vol. 2, 56-65.
Graumann, C. F. (1990). Der ph~inomenologische Ansatz in der
5kologischen Psychologie. In L. Kruse, C. F. Graumann &
E.-D. Lantermann, Eds, Okologische Psychologie. Mtinchen:
PVU, pp. 97-104.
Gulliver, F. P. (1908). Orientation of maps. Journal of Geography,
7, 55-58.
Hard, G. (1987). 'BewuBtseinsr~iume'. Interpretation zu geographischen Versuchen, regionales Bewui~tsein zu erforschen.
Geographische Zeitschrift, 75, 127-148.
Hagget, P. (1979). Geography. A Modern Synthesis. New York:
Harper & Row.
Hfiul3ermann, H. & Siebel, W. (1987). Neue Urbanit~it. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp.
Hormuth, S. E. & Lalli, M. (1986). The role of urban environments for self-presentation. In M. Krampen, Ed., Environment
and Human Action. Berlin (West): Hochschule der Ktinste,
pp. 253-256.
Hormuth, S. E. (1990). The Self-concept and Change: An
Ecological Approach. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University
Press.
Husserl, E. (1950-1952). Ideen zu einer reinen Ph~inomenologie
und ph~inomenologischen Philosophie (3 vols). The Hague:
Martinus Nijhoff.
Jakle, J. A., Brunn, S. & Roseman, C. C. (1976). Human Spatial
Behavior. A Social Geography. North Scituate, MA: Duxbury.
James, W. (1890). The Principles of Psychology. New York:
Holt.
Keller, M. (1988). Geographische Identit~it als Teil der Entwicklung eines Selbstkonzeptes. Schweizerische Zeitschrift fi~r Psychologie, 47, 183-192.
KShler, C. (1981). Stadterleben. Frankfurt: R. G. Fischer.
Krupat, E. (1983). A place for place identity. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 3, 343-344.
Lalli, M. (1988). Urban identity. In D. Canter, J. Jesuino,
L. Soczka & G. M. Stephenson, Eds., Environmental Social
Psychology. Dordrecht: Kluwer, pp. 303-311.
Lalli, M. & P15ger, W. (1990). Corporate Identity fiir St~dte.
Ergebnisse einer bundesweiten Gesamterhebung. Marketing--ZFP, 13, (4) 237-248.
Lalli, M. & Thomas, C. (1988). Environmental evaluation in the
context of urban development. A quasi-experimental field study
(Report Nr. 88/3). Darmstadt: Institut fiir Psychologie der TH.
Lalli, M. & Thomas, C. (1989). Public opinion and decision
making in the community. Evaluation of residents' attitudes
towards town planning measures. Urban Studies, 26, 435447.
Lehmann, A. (1983). Heimat Land oder auch Heimat Stadt?
Der Bi~rger im Staat, 33, 232-235.
Liu, B.-C. (1974). Quality of life: concept, measures and results.
American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 34, 1-14.
Lynch, K. (1960). The Image of the City. Cambridge, MA: MIT
Press.
Mead, G. H. (1934) Mind, Self, and Society. Chicago, IL:
University of Chicago Press.
Milgram, S. (1970). The experience of living in cities. Scientific
American, 167, 1461-1468.
Mitscherlich, A. (1965). Die Unwirtlichkeit unserer Stddte.
Frankfurt: Suhrkamp.

Moore, G. T. (1979). Knowing about environmental knowing:

the current state of theory and research in environmental
cognition. Environment and Behavior, 11, 33-70.
Proshansky, H. M. (1978). The city and self-identity. Environment and Behavior, 10, 147-169.
Proshansky, H. W. & Fabian, A. K. (1987). The development of
place-identity in the child. In C. S. Weinstein and T. G. David,
Eds, Spaces for Children. The Build Environment and Child
Development. New York: Plenum Press, pp. 21-40.
Proshansky, H. M., Fabian, A. K. & Kaminoff, R. (1983). Placeidentity: physical world socialization of the sell Journal of
Environmental Psychology, 3, 57-83.
Reitzes, D. C. (1986). Urban identification and downtown
activities: a social psychological approach. Social Psychology
Quarterly, 49, 167-179.
Relph, E. (1976). Place and Placelessness. London: Pion.
Rivlin, L. G. (1982). Group membership and place meanings in
an urban neighborhood. Journal of Social Issues, 38, 75-93.
RomeiB-Stracke, F. (1984). Freizeitorientierte Wohnumfeldverbesserung und lokale Identit~it. Schriftenreihe Landes- und
Stadtentwicklungsforschung des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, Freizeit, Band 5.001.
Rowles, G. D. (1983). Place and personal identity in old age:
observation from Appalachia. Journal of Environmental
Psychology, 3, 299-313.
Schneider, G. (1986). Psychological identity of and identification
with urban neighborhoods. In D. Frick, Ed., The Quality of
Urban Life. Berlin: de Gruyter, pp. 204-218.
Schneider, G, (1990). Umweltrepr~isentation: Problembereiche.
In L. Kruse, C. F. Graumann & E.-D. Lantermann, Eds,
Okologische Psychologie. Miinchen: PVU, pp. 263-267.
Schneider, G. & Graumann, C .F. (1986). St~idtische Unwelt:
Identit~it und Identifikation. In M. Krampen, Ed., Environment and Human Action. Berlin (West): Hochschule der
Ktinste, pp. 237-240.
Schtitz, A. (1962-1966). Collected Papers, 3 vols. The Hague:
Nijhoff.
Simmel, G. (1903). Die Groi3stfidte und das Geistesleben. In
Th. Petermann, Ed., Die Groflstadt. Dresden: Jahrbuch der
Gehe-Stiftung, pp. 187-206.
Stokols, D & Shumaker, S. A. (1981). People in places: transactional view of settings. In J. Harvey, Ed., Cognition, Social
Behavior, and the Environment. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum, pp. 441-488.
Stryker, S. (1980). Symbolic Interactionism. A Social Structural
Version. Menlo Park, CA: Benjamin/Cummings.
Taylor, C. (1964). The Explanation of Behavior. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Thum, K. (1981). Soziale Bindungen an das Wohnviertel. In/ E.
Bodzenta, I. Speiser & K. Thum, Eds, Wo sind die Groflstddter
daheim? Studien i~ber Bindungen an das Wohnviertel. Wien:
BShlaus, pp. 33-108.
Tolman, E. C. (1948). Cognitive maps in rats and men. Psychological Review, 55, 189-208.
Treinen, H. (1965). Symbolische Ortsbezogenheit. Eine soziologische Untersuchung
zum Heimatproblem. KSlner
Zeitschrift fi~r Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 17, 73-97 &
254-297.
Trowbridge, C. C. (1913). On fundamental methods of orientation and imaginery maps. Science, 38, 888-897.
Tuan, Y. F. (1980). Rootedness versus sense of place. Landscape,
24, 3-8.
Weichart, P. (1990). Raumbezogene Identitdt. Bausteine zu
einer Theorie rdumlich-sozialer Kognition und Identifikation.
Stuttgart: Steiner.

Urban Identity
Wilson, B. M. (1980). Social space and symbolic interaction.
In A. Buttimer & D. Seamon, Eds., The Human Experience of
Space and Place. London: Croom Helm, pp. 135-147.
Winter, G. & Church, S. (1984). Ortsidentitfit, Unweltbewufitsein und kommunalpolitisches Handeln. In W. Moser & S.
Preiser, Eds., Unweltprobleme und Arbeitslosigkeit. Weinheim:
Beltz, pp. 78-93.
Wirth, L. (1938). Urbanism as a way of life. American Journal of
Sociology, 44, 1-24.
Zelinsky, W. (1980). North America's vernacular regions. Annals
of the Association of American Geographers, 70, 1-16.

Manuscript received 3 April 1990

Revised manuscript received 15 April 1991

Appendix
Urban-Identity Scale (20 Items)
External evaluation
- - I n other towns Heidelberg is seen as possessing
prestige.
--As compared with other towns, Heidelberg has
many advantages.
--Heidelberg can only be recommended to tourists.
- - T h e r e are many things here which are envied
by other towns.
General attachment
- - I have got native feelings for Heidelberg.

303

- - I see myself as a 'Heidelbergian'.

- - I feel really at home at Heidelberg.
- - T h e town is like a part of myself.
Continuity with personal past
--Lots of things in the town remind me of my own
past.
- - I cannot imagine living in a different town because I would give up too much of myself.
- - I have had so many experiences in Heidelberg
that I have become intimately bound up with
the town.
- - I know Heidelberg so well that I would recognize the town on a photograph taken at any
time.
Perception of familiarity
- - W h e n I amble through Heidelberg I feel very
strongly that I belong here.
--This town is very familiar to me indeed.
--This town is very important for my daily life.
- - I experience this town very intensively every
day.
Commitment
- - I would like to stay in Heidelberg indefinitely.
- - I am looking forward to witnessing Heidelberg's
future development.
--Heidelberg plays an important role in my
future plans.
- - M y personal future is closely tied up with
Heidelberg.