Place-making to transform urban social–ecological systems: insights from the stewardship of urban lakes in Bangalore, India

Abstract

With cities expanding globally and human populations becoming increasingly urban, sustaining ecosystems that support human well-being in cities is both increasingly challenging and urgent. City residents can take on important roles in the stewardship of public parks, trees, and waterbodies in their neighbourhoods, and sense of place is often brought forward as a motivation for engagement. In Bangalore, neighbourhood lake groups have partnered with public authorities to improve the restoration and upkeep of the city's disappearing and increasingly polluted lakes. In this study, we focus on five lake groups to investigate the influence of sense of place on stewardship, specifically place-making-a term used to describe intentional practices to design, improve, and manage 'good' public spaces. In each group, three-to-six members were interviewed and a survey tool was used to assess the place attachments and meanings associated with their specific lakes. Findings show that approaches to place-making were influenced by childhood experiences with nature, and an appreciation for what is becoming increasingly scarce in a fast-growing city; greenery, pleasant temperatures, free-flowing water, clean air, and access to nature. Over time, involvement in lake care has reinforced attachment for certain place meanings, but also broadened the range of meanings people are attached to, including seeing the lakes as places to express national and cultural pride. Findings also show that longer involvement in stewardship tends to give rise to a more complex understanding of the lakes' social and ecological functions, which in turn motivates the lake groups to advocate for a more socially just and nature-oriented approach to lake management. Based on our findings, we propose that stewardship groups can influence how a broader community interacts with and cares for urban green spaces, foster a more complex understanding of the varied benefits green spaces generate, and carve out alternative and more sustainable pathways for the governance of urban ecology.

Sense of place in social–ecological systems: from theory to empirics

“…The work of Murphy et al (2019) and Enqvist et al (2019) support Horlings' (2016 assertion that place-making or place-shaping may represent a type of transformation towards stewardship of SESs. In Bangalore, lake groups, who started out wanting to restore the ecological function of lakes, have expanded the meaning that they attribute to the lake as also valuable in providing multiple benefits to the diverse people surrounding the lake.…”

“…Early ranching operations in Malheur, Oregon, altered the flood irrigation which extended natural riparian functions and which later became a focal point for managing waterfowl populations in the wildlife reserve (Ingalls et al 2019). Similar processes have formed the backdrop in cases from Bangalore and New York City (Murphy et al 2019;Enqvist et al 2019), where decades of urban development eventually limit the public consciousness of places' identity and potential.…”

“…Second, considering the four themes simultaneously may generate propositions to be explored in future research. For instance, several papers indicate that escaping traps can be helped by questioning dominant place meanings (Masterson 2016;Enqvist et al 2016;Murphy et al 2019). It is, therefore, imperative to investigate what makes those meanings so influential, and what kinds of power structures underpin them.…”

“…Perceptions about identity of a system (e.g., what are the lakes, what do they function as) reinforce rigid management approaches as local actors overlook alternatives. Murphy et al (2019) show how lake groups' stewardship activities and their attachment to broader meanings foster a deeper social-ecological knowledge about lakes and their role in water management. The lake groups' learning process is being guided by meanings of place that they care about, e.g., the wish to re-establish lakes as important avifaunal habitat or to protect them to ensure water supply in local wells and boreholes.…”

“…Social-ecological dynamics have played a critical role in creating 'trap' dynamics (see more below) in Bangalore's water supply; as urbanization eroded lakes' water quantity and quality, the meaning associated with them as a place of relevance for water security was gradually undermined (Enqvist et al 2016). Murphy et al (2019) demonstrate how local initiatives actively counteract this process by both promoting physical restoration and community awareness and appreciation of the lakes. Similarly, Verbrugge et al (2019) synthesizing insights from multiple cases of environmental restoration, observe that ecological rejuvenation is often accompanied by improved infrastructure for residents and tourists to visit.…”