PLACE IDENTITY - SYMBOLS OF SELF IN THE URBAN FABRIC

The urban fabric contains symbols (icons) that tell us something about ourselves and something about those to whom the symbols belong. This aspect of the urban fabric has been called the glue that bonds people to place. The contention of this paper is that these icons deserve spe cial attention in urban design decisions because they contribute to pl ace identity and ultimately to self identity, health, sense of communi ty and sense of place. To explore the nature of these place-based mean ings, data were collected from residents of Charleston, SC following h urricane Hugo in 1989. Residents were asked to describe what they had lost to the storm, not just the physical features blown away by winds or damaged by rains, but the memories and meanings embodied by these f eatures. Residents identified several types of features as icons of sp ecial significance: urban forest (30%), churches (27%), homes (19%), p ublic buildings (6%), places associated with historic events (6%) and retail structures (5%). Residents' explanations for why these icons we re special fell into six major categories. The icons: provided connect ions to residents' pasts; symbolize the social groups to which residen ts belonged or with which they identified; gave the community its dist inctive character; satisfied important functional needs; evoked emotio ns or feelings; and served as reminders of personal accomplishments an d concerns. We concluded that place identity, although subjective and subtle, can be assessed and managed through sensitive land development efforts.