Exploring the relationship between renewable energy development and people-place bonds : Insights from a rural recreation area in southern Sweden

Abstract: The transition to a low carbon future is necessary to ensure humanity’s sustainable future, yet the expanding introduction of renewable energy technologies (RETs) is a central driver for transformations in rural landscapes worldwide. Introducing renewable energy (RE) infrastructures in rural landscapes raises concerns about the reduced naturalness and attractiveness of such landscapes for tourism and recreation as well as the transformation of people-place bonds as established through people’s interactions with and experiences in the surrounding landscapes. Few have examined how landscape transformation resulting from RE developments reshapes land users’ bonds with places. Furthermore, previous research has primarily relied on crosssectional quantitative data. This study addresses that literature gap and uses the Nature's Contributions to People (NCP) framework and the evolutionary theory of place attachment as theoretical underpinnings to examine how individuals perceive and experience evolving landscapes. By exploring individuals’ perceptions of and affective bonds with physical landscapes, this study provides a holistic understanding of the bonds that different groups of people may have with a certain place and how these bonds are manifested in the context of RE development and RET-related place change. In-depth interviews with private landowners and recreationists from the municipality of Mönsterås, Sweden, and observations in the Åby-Alebo wind park allow for the coconstruction of narratives reflecting individual accounts of meaning-making processes. The findings demonstrate that place attachment was evident in respondents’ descriptions of how they make a place meaningful to themselves through personal experiences and (recreational) practices. Along with landscape changes, for some individuals, meanings towards and bond with place evolved as well. The discussion shows that the emotional relationship to place reflects respondents’ particular journey in the world and over time. The study also highlights that differences in how recreationists and landowners bond with places is manifested in a changing context, disclosing the relationality of place attachment along social, practical, and temporal contextual factors. This points to encouraging possibilities for discussing the reconceptualization of humanity’s transition towards a low carbon future and fostering more sustainable landscape management in rural recreation areas.