Reconceptualising comfort as part of local belonging

The Use of Confidence, Commitment and Irony

Bibliographic Data

ID4773085
AuthorsSophie Yarker (0000-0003-0938-447X, Newcastle University, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume20
Issue4
Pages534-550
Publication date2019-05-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial & Cultural Geography (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1464-9365 • E-ISSN: 1470-1197
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14649365.2017.1373301
OpenAlexW2751386606
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited51

This paper offers a theoretical framework for the analysis of belonging in local communities. To do so it draws on a broad existing literature which argues that comfort is a key dimension of our attachments to place. The argument that experiences of local belonging (or otherwise) are related to a person’s sense of comfort is a persuasive one, though current conceptualisations do not always adequately reflect this contention. As a consequence, our ability as geographers to adequately theorise our relationship to local places remains limited. This paper presents an empirical examination of comfort and local belonging amongst residents of a social housing estate in the North-east of England, and explores comfort as it is expressed through acts of confidence, commitment and irony. It concludes by arguing that taking comfort more seriously might lead us to a more agentic and reflexive understanding of local belonging and attachment

Argument (complex analysis · Dimension (graph theory · Epistemology · Estate · Housing estate · Irony · Linguistics · Political science · Reflexivity · Social science · Sociology · History · Homelessness and Social Issues · Law · Place Attachment and Urban Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology · Urban Planning and Governance

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