Uncovering Place-Based Meanings and Attachments of Miami River Waterfront Residents Using Photovoice

Keywords: Sense of place, place meanings, place attachments, photovoice, urban waterfront, social-ecological systems,
Session Type: Virtual Poster Abstract
Day: Friday
Session Start / End Time: 2/25/2022 03:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/25/2022 05:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 49

Abstract

Historic urban waterfronts are experiencing a wave of redevelopment as domestic and international developers seek to transform derelict waterfront areas to revitalized landscapes of residential, commercial, and entertainment complexes. These areas have several locational advantages due to their concentration of interactive land and water activities. However, the planning and redevelopment processes that go into creating attractive urban waterfront environments have the potential of changing how people connect to these new blue spaces. Sense of place serves as an important theoretical lens in helping researchers understand the diverse meanings that individuals and communities hold towards the places that are meaningful to them. Less explored, however, are how these meanings and attachments can serve as potential guided preferences for how individuals and communities respond to the social and environmental changes taking place in blue spaces, particularly historical urban waterfronts. This study explores the place-based meanings and attachments of residents living along the Miami River, a 90-year-old working waterway in South Florida that hosts various mixed-use industries and is facing a redevelopment wave. Photovoice, a participatory visual method , will be used to explore the multifaceted dimensions of residents’ connections. This method helps uncover the intangible connections to complex social-ecological systems that are often hidden using traditional methods for capturing place-based meanings and attachments. Results of this research will enhance the limited social-ecological knowledge of the Miami River, visually document how residents have encountered their changing environments, and expand the utility of Photovoice in capturing place-based meanings and attachments in social-ecological systems research.