Exploring the Role of 'Visual Catalysts' on Influencing People's Attraction and Use of Place

TIME AND TEMPORALITY
The role <strong>of</strong> temporality, and time, in place attachment has been understood as significant
since <strong>the</strong> work <strong>of</strong> Altman and Low (1992). They identified that attachment to place can
undergo temporal variation; one in which <strong>the</strong> relationship can fluctuate depending on a range
<strong>of</strong> internal and external factors (Altman & Low 1992). Yet, since <strong>the</strong>n much <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> focus in
research has been around <strong>the</strong> relationship <strong>of</strong> length <strong>of</strong> time towards <strong>the</strong> experience <strong>of</strong> place,
and less about <strong>the</strong> physical mechanisms that can cause <strong>the</strong>se temporal variations (Kyle, Graefe
& Manning 2005).
To illustrate this, <strong>the</strong> work <strong>of</strong> Hay (1998) and Smaldone (2006) focused on testing <strong>the</strong> widely
held view that time spent at a place correlates strongly with <strong>the</strong> intensity <strong>of</strong> one’s attachment
to that place. They argued that, for <strong>the</strong> most part, people who have spent insignificant
amounts <strong>of</strong> time in places have a weaker affective connection compared to those who have
spent a longer time in a place (Hay 1998; Smaldone 2006). As a result, Smaldone (2006)
puts forward <strong>the</strong> notion that people who have spent limited time in a place tend to have a
somewhat superficial ‘attraction’ to place, ra<strong>the</strong>r than an attachment. In o<strong>the</strong>r words, limitedtime
persons tend to have a greater bond with <strong>the</strong> physical form and conditions <strong>of</strong> a site,
ra<strong>the</strong>r than any imbued affective connection. However, Smaldone (2006) also indicated that
place attachment can be impacted significantly dependant on <strong>the</strong> intensity <strong>of</strong> experience,
and that more research is needed on <strong>the</strong> physical attributes <strong>of</strong> place that can cause temporal
variations in catalysing, and deepening, attachment.
Conversely, recent researchers have challenged this traditional viewpoint <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> dependency
on time for streng<strong>the</strong>ned attachment (Kaltenborn & Bjerke 2002; Korpela, Ylen, Tyrväinen &
Silvennoinen 2009; Stedman 2006;). From research on <strong>the</strong> comparison <strong>of</strong> long-time residents
and newcomers to place, <strong>the</strong>se academics propose that it is possible for newcomers to
form a pr<strong>of</strong>ound attachment to place through intense, short term interactions. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore,
<strong>the</strong>ir claims have been streng<strong>the</strong>ned by support <strong>of</strong> both <strong>the</strong>oretical and empirical evidence
(Brown & Raymond 2007) which has shown <strong>the</strong> presence <strong>of</strong> deep affective bonds between
newcomers and <strong>the</strong> places <strong>the</strong>y visit. However, a lack <strong>of</strong> substantial research into <strong>the</strong>
mechanisms that support this still leaves open some potential for greater clarity in <strong>the</strong>ory.
In particular, research has not been conducted to see whe<strong>the</strong>r temporary place-based
interventions can promote an attachment to place. Hence, to confirm, or argue against, <strong>the</strong>
overarching value <strong>of</strong> time being a fundamental feature <strong>of</strong> impacting people’s place attachment
<strong>the</strong>re needs to be more research on <strong>the</strong> role <strong>of</strong> temporality <strong>of</strong> form in places which are not
valued/depended upon. Additionally, this needs to be compared against contemporary, widely
accepted <strong>the</strong>oretical framework such as <strong>the</strong> one proposed by Scannell and Gifford (2010).
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