A place to call our own - everyone sees and values things differently

There are places I’ll remember,

All my life, but some have changed,

Some forever, not for better,

Some have gone, and some remain.

So sang The Beatles in 1965 as part of their hit, In My Life. John Lennon said the piece reflects upon past friends and relationships, and these words convey the link between the locations in which those memories unfolded and the people who were part of them.

In the stakeholder engagement and social impact field, we refer to this connection as ‘sense of place’. The term can be defined in various ways but perhaps the most common description is the cultural, historical and emotive bonds which tie a person to a particular area or activity.

Among other things, ‘sense of place’ speaks to two basic human ideas – that we have written and are writing our own ‘story’ as we travel through life, and that as people we all have a fundamental need to belong.

These concepts are important to consider when working on projects (especially infrastructure programs) involving individuals and communities. Why? An error we see repeatedly in analysing engagement associated with these works is the under-valuing of what stakeholders hold dear.

What to you may be a dilapidated farm shed, a dying tree or featureless hill, may to the stakeholder be the last representation of a departed loved one, a treasured place of celebration or proposal, or prompt recollections of happier days lived.

Why is it vital to comprehend ‘sense of place’? More often than not, stakeholder resistance will arise when it’s felt that not enough regard or respect has been given to the project’s potential effect on the ‘sense of place’ value of their community.

This opposition is usually dismissed as simple ‘NIMBYism’ however with the increasing emphasis planning assessment authorities are placing on social impact outcomes, ‘sense of place’ is escalating in prominence as a real issue for project delivery.

Unless you’ve been part of the subject community and therefore have a privileged understanding of it, the only way to identify and appreciate this value is through making use of the stakeholder engagement professional’s primary tools – asking questions and listening.

Given the opportunity, it’s extraordinary what the average Australian will share with someone who shows they are interested and attentive. It’s then that the information begins to flow which can lead to the negotiations and compromises usually necessary for a project to make progress.

The retaining of a significant space within a new housing development, the adaptive re-use of a heritage structure, the integration of items along a new walkway – there are numerous examples where the results of such stakeholder-focussed processes have not only preserved ‘sense of place’ but enhanced it.

In most cases, all it took was the initial recognition that to someone, somewhere, the place proposed for the project was part of their story.

All these places had their moments,

With lovers and friends, I still recall,

Some are dead and some are living,

In my life, I’ve loved them all