Speaker
Description
For college students, the spatial environment in which they live and study plays a crucial role in shaping their daily experiences and overall development. The college campus, the surrounding areas such as the college town (a concept commonly seen in China where universities are often located in specific urban districts), and the broader city they reside in, represent different scales of space that collectively influence their lives. Place attachment, which refers to the emotional bond that individuals develop with a particular place, is a key factor that affects individual well-being and future development. Understanding how college students form place attachments at different spatial scales and how these attachments influence their subjective well-being is essential for creating environments that support their holistic growth. This study aims to explore the differences in place attachment among college students across three distinct spatial scales: the campus, the college town, and the broader city. The specific objectives are as follows: (1) To analyze and present the spatial results of the mapping method in different spatial scales. (2) To compare the intensity and characteristics of place attachment as revealed by the mapping method across the different spatial scales. (3) To investigate how place attachment at each spatial scale affects subjective well-being. The study uses a combination of mapping methods and questionnaire data to gather information. The mapping method allows participants to visually identify and mark the places they feel attached to within the campus, college town, and city. This spatial data provides a rich understanding of the geographical distribution of place attachment. Additionally, questionnaires are used to collect quantitative data on students' subjective well-being and their place attachment. The data is then analyzed using a structural equation model (SEM). SEM is a powerful statistical technique that allows for the examination of complex relationships between multiple variables, making it suitable for understanding the interplay between place attachment and subjective well-being across different spatial scales. Hangzhou, a major city in eastern China, serves as the case study for this research. The city itself offers a rich cultural and social landscape that influences the lives of college students. By focusing on Hangzhou, this study can provide specific insights into how the local environment shapes students' place attachment and well-being. The results indicate that there are scale differences in the intensity of college students’ place attachment and its influencing factors. Place attachment of larger spatial scale can be affected by smaller spatial scale, and the influence mechanism of place attachment on subjective well-being is also different among different spatial scales. This research complements the theoretical study of multi-scale place attachment, and provides a reference for the formulation of environmental optimization strategies oriented to improving college students’ well-being.
| Keywords | place attachment; subjective well-being; multi-scale; structural equation model; mapping; Hangzhou |
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| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
