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.