Place attachments are discussed in 4 literatures: (1) psychoanalytic (object relations) theory, which considers the role of places and things within their social context; (2) environmental autobiography, which evaluates places saved through memory; (3) behavior mapping, which observes where children congregate; and (4) favorite place analyses, which explore the reasons for preferences. Sources of developing attachment are charted from birth through the teen years. Research into remembered places by adults shows that childhood place attachments involve memories of affection, transcendence, ambivalence, and idealization. Research on where children congregate shows that school-age children are the heaviest users of the outdoor landscape, playgrounds receive relatively little use, and close-to-home streets and yards are where children play through middle childhood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
