Journal of Environmental Psychology 25 (2005) 381–395 Ways to make people active: The role of place attachment, cultural capital, and neighborhood ties Maria Lewicka à Faculty of Psychology, Warsaw University, Ul. Stawki 5/7, 00-183 Warszawa, Poland Available online 27 December 2005 Abstract This paper tries to reconcile two sets of apparently contradictory results. One is the positive link, postulated in literature, between place attachment and civic activity, the other is the sociological claim that there is a negative relationship between place attachment and a person’s social and cultural status (cultural capital), which in turn is known to be the strongest positive predictor of civic involvement. In order to resolve this inconsistency, I postulated two alternative paths leading to civic activity: the social–emotional path, in which the relationship between place attachment and civic activity is mediated by local social capital (neighborhoods ties), and cultural path, consisting of cultural capital and interest in own roots. I also postulated a negative link between place attachment and cultural capital. A representative sample of 1328 subjects, coming from three regions of Poland, differing in historical heritage and objective rootedness of inhabitants, was used for analysis. In a series of structural equations, the two-path model was confirmed both in the whole sample and in each of the three regions separately. Similar results were obtained from a separate analysis run on data clustered into 114 communes. r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Place attachment; Civic activity; Cultural capital; Neighborhood ties 1. Place attachment—unconditionally positive? Judging by the majority of publications devoted to place attachment, the concept is usually implicitly defined as positive. It is assumed that to be attached to a place of residence is a good thing and that this psychological condition will carry beneficial effects for the person and for the community. In most of the publications, place attachment is considered an integral part of human identity (Jo¨rgensen & Stedman, 2001; Low & Altman, 1992; Mazumdar, Mazumdar, Docuyanan, & McLaughlin, 2000; Stedman, 2002; Stewart, Liebert, & Larkin, 2004; Twigger-Ross & Uzzell, 1996) or is used interchangeably with concepts directly referring to identity, such as ‘place identity’ (Proshansky, Fabian, & Kaminoff, 1983) or ‘community identity’ (Hummon, 1992). As Low and Altman (1992, p. 10) wrote ‘‘yplace attachment may contribute to the formation, maintenance, and preservation of the identity of a person, group, or culture. And, it may also be that place attachment plays a role in fostering individual, group, and cultural self-esteem, self-worth, and self-pride’’. According to Hay (1998), place attachment may serve as a defense against identity crises in the periods of transitions between successive developmental stages. And since ‘identity’ is a positively valued concept, so is place attachment. Place attachment is also assumed to be beneficial for the neighborhood since it facilitates involve- ment in local affairs. Studies demonstrate that place attachment contributes to civic activity on behalf of one’s place of residence, in the form of sustainable behavior (Guardia & Pol, 2002; Pol, 2002; Uzzell, Pol, & Badenas, 2002), ecological behaviors (Vorkinn & Riese, 2001) or reactions to encroachment of one’s territory (Brown, Perkins, & Brown, 2003, 2004; Kyle, Graefe, Manning, & Bacon, 2004; Saegert, 1989; Warin, Baum, Kalucy, Murray, & Veale, 2000). As such place attachment serves both the individual and larger community. This unconditional ascription of positive functions to place attachment continues despite counterarguments found in the literature. First there is empirical evidence that throws doubt on the direct positive link between place ARTICLE IN PRESS www.elsevier.com/locate/yjevp 0272-4944/$ - see front matter r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2005.10.004 à Tel.: +48 22 862 53 23; fax: +48 22 635 79 91. E-mail address: marlew@psych.uw.edu.pl.