Greening for meaning: Sense of place in green citizen initiatives in the Netherlands

Bibliographic Details
Title:	Greening for meaning: Sense of place in green citizen initiatives in the Netherlands
Authors:	Mellany N.C. van Bommel, Marthe L. Derkzen, Lenneke Vaandrager
Source:	Wellbeing, Space and Society, Vol 8, Iss , Pp 100240- (2025)
Publisher Information:	Elsevier, 2025.
Publication Year:	2025
Collection:	LCC:Human ecology. Anthropogeography LCC:Social sciences (General)
Subject Terms:	Sense of place, Community gardening, Participation, Urban agriculture, Health promotion, Human ecology. Anthropogeography, GF1-900, Social sciences (General), H1-99
More Details:	Increased global urbanisation has progressively disconnected humans and nature, resulting in public health challenges. Green citizen initiatives (e.g. food forests or community gardens) have the potential to reconnect people with nature and provide a source of meaning in life. This mixed methods study aimed to understand the meanings attributed to green citizen initiatives by using the concept of sense of place and to investigate which factors predict this sense of place. Surveys (n = 130) were used alongside interviews with 38 participants of ten green citizen initiatives in the Netherlands. Findings demonstrate a strong sense of place among participants in the green citizen initiatives, which was significantly predicted by meaningful experiences, sense of safety within the initiative and length of involvement. Participation in green citizen initiatives appears to create meaning across and beyond the three dimensions of sense of place – place attachment, place identity and place dependence – and, additionally, a broader societal meaning of place. Findings imply that green citizen initiatives are valuable assets for health and wellbeing.
Document Type:	article
File Description:	electronic resource
Language:	English
ISSN:	2666-5581 73268941
Relation:	http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666558125000065; https://doaj.org/toc/2666-5581
DOI:	10.1016/j.wss.2025.100240
Access URL:	https://doaj.org/article/81f46f732689419fb2cb1ae0e067ec66
Accession Number:	edsdoj.81f46f732689419fb2cb1ae0e067ec66
Database:	Directory of Open Access Journals

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RecordInfo	BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1016/j.wss.2025.100240 Languages: – Text: English Subjects: – SubjectFull: Sense of place Type: general – SubjectFull: Community gardening Type: general – SubjectFull: Participation Type: general – SubjectFull: Urban agriculture Type: general – SubjectFull: Health promotion Type: general – SubjectFull: Human ecology. Anthropogeography Type: general – SubjectFull: GF1-900 Type: general – SubjectFull: Social sciences (General) Type: general – SubjectFull: H1-99 Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Greening for meaning: Sense of place in green citizen initiatives in the Netherlands Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Mellany N.C. van Bommel – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Marthe L. Derkzen – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Lenneke Vaandrager IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 06 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 26665581 – Type: issn-print Value: 73268941 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 8 – Type: issue Value: 100240- Titles: – TitleFull: Wellbeing, Space and Society Type: main
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