Community Attachment: The Complexity and Consequence of the Natural Environment Facet

The primary objective of this paper is to examine more closely the complex nature of the natural environment dimension of community attachment using the narratives of local community members. This work seeks to build and elaborate on previous quantitative analyses that demonstrated two distinct dimensions of community attachment––social and natural environment. The findings reveal several distinct facets of the natural environment dimension of community attachment and demonstrate both a discreet perception of the natural environment in terms of community attachment as well as one that is more embedded within the social context of a particular lifestyle. The findings further demonstrate the need to include consideration of the natural environment in the broader assessment of community attachment and bolster previous quantitative research findings.

Joan M. BrehmEmail: