Geoadria, Vol. 27 No. 1, 2022.
Review article
https://doi.org/10.15291/geoadria.3543
From new sense of homeplace to disengaged attachment. Place attachment and territorial belonging in the Republic of Croatia
Mateo Žanić
orcid.org/0000-0001-7990-558X
; The Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar, Vukovar Regional Center
Geran-Marko Miletić
orcid.org/0000-0001-6673-657X
; The Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar, Center for Urban and Rural Studies
Abstract
In recent decades, the concept of place attachment has attracted considerable attention from scientists who deal with spatial transformations, with the thematic focus on modernization, globalization, or transition. This paper, therefore, aims to examine how this concept has been researched in the Republic of Croatia and what conclusions can be drawn from it. Based on the review of relevant literature, the paper deals with three topics in particular. Firstly, the findings of research that assessed the importance that Croatian citizens attach to different levels of territorial belonging are interpreted. This way, an insight is gained into the Croatian citizens' commitment to the local level compared to the national and supranational level. The results of a study that indicate different implications of belonging to the local environment in different Croatian regions are presented, as well as of research that shows there is a significant share of respondents who express disengaged attachment as a form of territorial identity. Secondly, various factors that have been proven to influence the expression of place attachment are considered. At the same time, certain differences between emotional and functional place attachment are found, and the concept of the hometown is discussed in detail. Finally, the relationship between migration, place attachment and the concept of multiple belongings is discussed. These topics were researched on the one hand, on youth populations, and on the other hand, on the examples of second homes. Based on the presented findings, four conclusions are made, according to which emotional place attachment is considerably expressed in Croatia, but also that emotional belonging is usually accompanied by a certain degree of dissatisfaction with the local environment or fear of the future. Furthermore, some findings indicate the manifestation of multiple belongings, while the formed typologies of place attachment and territorial identities indicate different scopes and meanings that are attached to the concept at the local level. It is believed that the presented results significantly contribute to the understanding of the social and identity significance of a place and also enable a better understanding of the social transformations that the Republic of Croatia went through in the post-communist period.
Keywords
place attachment; territorial belonging; local belonging; new sense of homeplace; passive belonging
Hrčak ID:
280228
URI
Publication date:
29.8.2022.
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