Sense of Place in Hamilton, Ontario: Empirical Results of a Neighborhood-Based Survey

Abstract

Although the concept of sense of place has a long history in the social sciences, relatively few studies have attempted a quantitative analysis of sense of place at the neighborhood level. This study reports on the empirical findings of a sense of place survey developed and tested in two contrasting neighborhoods in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada: Southwest Mountain, an upper-middle-class suburban neighborhood and Northeast Industrial, a lower-income, working-class neighborhood located in the heart of the city's industrial district. The principal objective is to assess the relationship between sense of place and the socio-demographic characteristics of residents living in neighborhoods of very different socioeconomic status. This study also introduces a method for calculating a neighborhood sense of place score derived from a fully tested, validated survey instrument. It was found that sense of place was strongest in Southwest Mountain, and among seniors, long-term residents, unmarried people, and immigrants. In addition, residents with a lower level of education and those in the unpaid labor force had a stronger sense of place.