The Social Construction of Living Space: The Role of Place Attachment and Neighbourhood Perception

Ángela Mesa-Pedrazas, José Manuel Torrado () and Ricardo Duque-Calvache
Additional contact information
Ángela Mesa-Pedrazas: Department of Sociology, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
José Manuel Torrado: Department of Sociology, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Ricardo Duque-Calvache: Department of Sociology, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 17, 1-16

Abstract: This study provides a comprehensive assessment of the social construction of living spaces by considering commonly studied variables such as sociodemographic characteristics, socioeconomic factors, and residential location. Additionally, it tests the significance of deeper sociological factors, specifically place attachment, bonds with the local community, and perceptions of the neighbourhood. An analysis, based on a description of the spatial structure of daily activities globally, the construction of living space dispersion indices, and a stepwise linear regression model, identified three types of living spaces: commuting spaces, self-realization spaces, and spaces of care, with different concentration and dispersion patterns. Commuting spaces are typically larger; self-realization takes place in the neighbourhood but is also frequently dispersed across multiple locations; and spaces of care are heavily concentrated. The analysis of subpopulations reveals distinct living space patterns based on two main factors: work and children. However, there are important differences in the age and gender composition of the subpopulations. The concentration/dispersion of living spaces is mainly driven by sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors, but place attachment measures significantly affect their construction. The results encourage further exploration of the subjective, experienced dimension of urban phenomena, going beyond the concept of “living spaces” to think of them as “lived-in spaces”.

Keywords: living space; activity space; lived-in space; daily mobility; metropolitan areas; social inequalities; Spain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/17/12928/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/17/12928/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:17:p:12928-:d:1226307

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().