Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
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This thesis shows that ongoing processes of overdevelopment and gentrification on the Outer Banks lead to both direct and indirect displacement, fundamentally altering the sense of place among long...Show moreThis thesis shows that ongoing processes of overdevelopment and gentrification on the Outer Banks lead to both direct and indirect displacement, fundamentally altering the sense of place among long-term residents. Direct displacement is understood as the physical relocation of individuals or communities due to rising housing costs and development pressures. On a more subtle level, indirect displacement is manifested in significant alterations to the natural, built, and cultural landscapes. Thus, while many residents can continue to afford living in their homes, their surroundings quickly become unrecognizable. Authors observe that such landscape changes, resulting from overdevelopment and gentrification, may lead residents to experience a ‘loss of place’. The research set out to explore this phenomena: do long-term residents, or “natives”, experience a loss of place, or ‘placelessness’, amidst ongoing development pressures and changing social structures? If so, how? Additionally, how do residents maintain their sense of place in the face of such displacement? The findings imply that those residents who manage to stay in place, despite rising costs, experience profound changes to their sense of place. However, residents also employ resilient practices in order to maintain their sense of place and retain a deep love of place amidst these rapid changes to their community, culture, and natural environment. The current written article is complemented by a 30-minute ethnographic film highlighting the complexities of place change and displacement for long-term residents of the Outer Banks.Show less
Built heritage plays an important role in the urban planning context, interestingly enough to shifting social and environmental concepts within a community. With the objective of providing...Show moreBuilt heritage plays an important role in the urban planning context, interestingly enough to shifting social and environmental concepts within a community. With the objective of providing alternative perspectives on prior assessments of the value of historical city identity for a sense of place in cities, this thesis provides a discussion and analysis of a contrasting modern-day city like Rotterdam. The research is useful for cities that have undergone mass destruction and are in need of general reconstruction in answering questions on how to (re)build a sense of place for their population. Additionally, the findings are written upon existing literature, interviews conducted with local architects and urban designers, as well as a survey of Rotterdammers living and working within the city center. Reflecting on the urban planning practices, it becomes evident that Rotterdammers’ grew their appreciation and awareness of historical value. Findings show, that historical city identity has the potential to foster a sense of belonging, connectedness, familiarity, and continuity and through that alter Rotterdammers’ sense of place. However, it fails to provide distinctiveness and support the community’s multicultural identity.Show less
Built heritage plays an important role in the urban planning context, interestingly enough to shift social and environmental concepts within a community. With the objective of providing alternative...Show moreBuilt heritage plays an important role in the urban planning context, interestingly enough to shift social and environmental concepts within a community. With the objective of providing alternative perspectives on prior assessments of the value of historical city identity for a sense of place in cities, this thesis provides a discussion and analysis of a contrasting modern-day city like Rotterdam. The research is useful for cities that have undergone mass destruction and are in need of general reconstruction in answering questions on how to (re)build a sense of place for their population. Additionally, the findings are written upon existing literature, interviews conducted with local architects and urban designers, as well as a survey of Rotterdammers living and working within the city center. Reflecting on the urban planning practices, it becomes evident that Rotterdammers’ grew their appreciation and awareness towards historical value. Findings show, historical city identity has the potential to foster a sense of belonging, connectedness, familiarity, continuity and through that alter Rotterdammers’ sense of place. However, it fails to provide distinctiveness and support the community’s multicultural identity.Show less
Thai international students have to form a sense of belonging and a sense of place during their stay in the host city to feel as a part of society. The paper tries to understand differences in...Show moreThai international students have to form a sense of belonging and a sense of place during their stay in the host city to feel as a part of society. The paper tries to understand differences in process of forming a sense of belonging and a sense of place. Moreover, the paper also focuses on how the process of forming a sense of belonging and a sense of place are relevant to identity development. A literature review is used to explain relevant concepts such as superdiversity, multiculturalism, individualism, collectivism, and bicultural bilinguals. These concepts will be mainly used to understand what Thai international students experience and how it affects them in the process of forming a sense of belonging, a sense of place, and a new identity. An one on one qualitative interview is conducted. The sampling selection methods are purposive and snowball sampling with the number of three participants in each city.Show less
