Variations in Sense of Place Across Immigrant Status and Gender in Hamilton, Ontario; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; and, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Abstract

Past research in Hamilton, Ontario has found that age and longevity of residence are positively associated with evaluations of sense of place (SoP); further, evaluations of SoP between immigrants and Canadian-born individuals have shown no clear pattern (Williams et al. 2010; Williams and Kitchen 2012). This paper builds on this work by further examining evaluations of SoP among both immigrants and Canadian-born residents and across gender in Hamilton, while expanding the study to two other small-to-medium sized cities: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. This paper has two objectives: (1) to establish measures of SoP across immigrant status and gender in Hamilton, Saskatoon, and Charlottetown; and, (2) to determine how SoP varies according to immigrant status, length of residence in Canada, age, income, and neighbourhood length of residence across the three city sites. Telephone survey data (n = 1,132) was used to compare evaluations of SoP across various groups and to construct an ordered logistic regression model for SoP. Results suggest that immigrants tended to rate their SoP lower than their Canadian-born counterparts. Hamilton residents were found to rate their SoP lowest, followed by Saskatoon residents and, finally, Charlottetown residents. Younger individuals, those with lower income levels, and those with shorter neighbourhood residency in the cities concerned were more likely to have lower evaluations of SoP. This research suggests that greater attention is needed to nurture immigrants’ connection with their new home.

Perceptions of Air Quality and Sense of Place among Women in Northeast Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

“…NVIVO 9 was used to thematically code (Hay, 2010) the transcripts for: awareness of air quality; knowledge of air quality; concerns/risk perception; perceived control; coping mechanisms; and, neighbourhood perceptions. Gallina & Williams, 2014). In addition, both groups of women had higher absolute values of SoP than their male counterparts.…”

“…This is in keeping with the known evidence described above, with respect to both research on the postmaterialist thesis (where it is suggested that immigrants have lower levels of environmental concern when compared to native residents) and SoP (where, again, immigrants are found to have lower evaluations when compared to native residents). Gallina and Williams (2014) suggest that increases in length of neighbourhood residence, median income, and age distribution would lead to stronger feelings of place amongst immigrant respondents. Therefore, assuming that immigrants follow the same trend as their Canadian-born counterparts, it may be expected that one would see an associated increase in environmental awareness, knowledge, and concern amongst immigrants if their SoP evaluations improve.…”

“…The methods and results are discussed in chronological order, beginning with a description of the quantitative methods. A more in-depth quantitative analysis is provided in the earlier work (Gallina & Williams, 2014).…”

“…This research builds on earlier work, which found that immigrants in Hamilton had lower evaluations of SoP than their Canadian-born counterparts (Galling & Williams, 2014). Lower evaluations of SoP amongst immigrant respondents may be attributed to: a 'disruption' of SoP during the immigration process; younger age distribution; and/or, lower median incomes (Gallina & Williams, 2014).…”

“…Due to the nature of the SoP formula, any records with a missing response to one of the sixteen SoP questions were eliminated from the analysis; a total of 631 responses were used in the analysis. Further information on the SoP scale and its analysis can be found in the earlier work (Gallina & Williams, 2014).…”