A Case Study at Pier 21 by Matt Reid a Thesis
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Developing Practical Guidelines for Sense of Place using Visual Simulations: A Case Study at Pier 21 by Matt Reid A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfilment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Arts in Planning Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2008 © Matt Reid 2008 ~ AUTHORS DECLARATION ~ I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. ii ~ ABSTRACT ~ Sense of place is important because it enhances the user experience in a setting, promotes well maintained public places and encourages public participation in planning. In addition, sense of place has recently been recognized for its significance in ecosystem and resource management. Unfortunately, due to lack of a clear definition and disorganization in the literature, the significance of sense of place has not translated well from theory to practice. This research narrows the gap between theory and practice in place-making by distilling common place-making principles from the literature to develop a set of clear, practical guidelines for place-making. Using Pier 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, these principles (and the techniques that fulfill them) were incorporated into twenty ‘what-if’ visual simulations. Using a multi-sort technique, combined with open- ended interviews, these simulations were used to evoke participant responses to the principles and techniques distilled from the literature. Generally, it was found that sense of place is enhanced with the addition of these principles/techniques, but five unexpected ‘key findings’ were also discovered – there is a hierarchy amongst the principles; there is a hierarchy amongst the techniques; significant techniques are lacking in the literature; the principles/techniques need not be exhausted; and, with familiarity, mystery becomes meaning. Practically, it is demonstrated that the guidelines developed through this research are capable of providing solutions to issues recognized in current Canadian design guidelines. Academically, this research presents an initial exploratory study in bridging the gap between theory and practice in place-making. A number of opportunities are recognized to further test the principles/techniques distilled in this research. iii ~ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ~ Wow! Now I know how it feels to win an Oscar and only get thirty seconds to thank everyone. I’ll try to make this quick. First up is Caroline. You were the unlucky one who had to deal with me on a day-to-day basis, but you always kept me grounded. No matter how rough my day was, I always looked forward to putting the books away when you got home. While sense of place may not be your “cup of tea,” thank you for pretending like it was to make me feel good. You are awesome, thank you, and I love you! John. You have also been there almost daily (and were probably thrilled when I moved to Toronto – until the constant emails started). It was a pleasure to work with you. Your knowledge amazes me, and I would be happy if even a fraction of it wore off on me. You helped me select a topic that I hope to explore for years to come, and your guidance ensured that I produced a thesis I can be proud of. Thank you very much. To Ma, Pa, Liss, Shell and all the extensions, I thank you for everything. Without getting too sappy, you guys are responsible for the person I am today. Without you, I would never have made it this far. I love you all, and can not wait until you have to read this (all 176 pages)! Have fun! To everyone else who made this possible, including my committee members, all the participants of this research, the awesome staff at Pier 21 (I had a great week, thanks guys), my friends, my professors at Waterloo and Dalhousie, and my unofficial Pier 21 photographer (thanks Rima!)…THANK YOU!!! Finally, I would like to dedicate this thesis to Sushi and Kimchi. It gets pretty lonely working at home all day by myself, but you guys always kept me entertained. iv ~ TABLE-OF-CONTENTS ~ LIST OF FIGURES … vi CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION 1.1 CONTEXT … 01 1.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS … 05 1.3 THESIS ORGANIZATION … 06 CHAPTER TWO – LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION … 08 2.2 DEFINING SENSE OF PLACE … 08 2.3 CONCLUSION … 21 CHAPTER THREE - METHODS 3.1 INTRODUCTION … 22 3.2 RESEARCH PARADIGMS IN LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT … 22 3.3 PREPARATION OF A VISUAL SIMULATION … 27 3.4 THE INTERVIEW PROCEDURE … 54 3.5 DATA ANALYSIS … 57 3.6 QUALITY CHECKS … 61 3.7 CONCLUSION … 71 CHAPTER FOUR – DISTILLING THE PRINCIPLES/TECHNIQUES OF PLACE-MAKING 4.1 INTRODUCTION (PRINCIPLES/TECHNIQUES) … 72 4,2 CONCLUSION … 96 CHAPTER FIVE – CASE STUDY CONTEXT: PIER 21 5.1 INTRODUCTION … 97 5.2 HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA … 97 5.3 HISTORIC PIER 21 … 101 5.4 PRESENT DAY PIER 21 … 102 CHAPTER SIX – FINDINGS 6.1 INTRODUCTION … 109 6.2 FINDING # 1: A HIERARCHY OF PLACEMAKING PRINCIPLES … 109 6.3 FINDING # 2: A HIERARCHY OF PLACEMAKING TECHNIQUES … 122 6.4 FINDING # 3: PLACEMAKING TECHNIQUES ARE LACKING IN THE LITERATURE … 132 6.5 FINDING # 4: PLACEMAKING PRINCIPLES/TECHNIQUES NEED NOT BE EXHAUSTED … 138 6.6 FINDING # 5: WITH FAMILIARITY, MYSTERY BECOMES MEANING … 147 6.7 CONCLUSION … 149 CHAPTER SEVEN – IMPLICATIONS 7.1 INTRODUCTION … 151 7.2 PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS … 151 7.3 RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS … 172 7.4 THESIS CONCLUSIONS … 177 APPENDICES … 179 REFERENCES … 217 v ~ LIST OF FIGURES ~ CHAPTER TWO – LITERATURE REVIEW Figure 2.1: The Evolution of Sense of Place … 09 CHAPTER THREE - METHODS Figure 3.1: The Requirements of a 'Good' Simulation … 37 Figure 3.2: Participant Breakdown by Age … 40 Figure 3.3: Participant Breakdown by Familiarity … 41 Figure 3.4: Viewpoint # 1 - Toward Pier 21 Approaching from the Waterfront of Downtown Halifax … 43 Figure 3.5: Viewpoint # 2 - Looking Toward Pier 21 Approaching from the Parking Lot … 44 Figure 3.6: Viewpoint # 3 - Looking Toward Pier 21 Approaching from the Parking Lot or Entrance … 44 Figure 3.7: Viewpoint # 4 - A Context View from Above the Parking Lot … 45 Figure 3.8: Content Analysis Matrix … 60 CHAPTER FOUR – DISTILLING THE PRINCIPLES/TECHNIQUES OF PLACE-MAKING Figure 4.1: The Structure of Sense of Place … 73 CHAPTER FIVE – CASE STUDY CONTEXT: PIER 21 Figure 5.1: The City of Halifax … 97 Figure 5.2: The Halifax Harbor … 98 Figure 5.3: Visitors enjoying the Halifax Waterfront … 99 Figure 5.4: The Halifax International Busker Festival … 99 Figure 5.5: The Pier 21 National Immigration Museum … 100 Figure 5.6: The Pier 22 Cruise Pavilion … 100 Figure 5.7: New Canadians Arriving at Pier 21 … 101 Figure 5.8: The Historic Train Donated to Pier 21 … 102 Figure 5.9: The Queen Mary 2 Docked at Pier 21 … 104 Figure 5.10: Looking Across the Pedestrian Unfriendly ‘Roundabout’ from the Entrance of Pier 21 … 106 Figure 5.11: The Large, Barren Parking Lot that Utilizes Most of the Space Outside Pier 21 … 107 Figure 5.12: The View Leading Cruise Ship Visitors to the Rest of the Halifax Waterfront … 107 Figure 5.13: The Property Surrounding the Entrance to the Pier 21 Immigration Museum … 108 CHAPTER SIX – FINDINGS Figure 6.1: Percentage of Participants giving Significant Responses … 110 Figure 6.2: Participant Response - Successful Techniques … 123 Figure 6.3: Technique Hierarchy: Participant Response by Principle … 125 Figure 6.4: Unsuccessful Techniques … 126 Figure 6.5: Unrecognized and Inconclusive Techniques … 128 Figure 6.6: Successful Techniques … 131 Figure 6.7: Additional Techniques Distilled from the Empirical Research … 132 vi Figure 6.8: A Comprehensive Hierarchy of Techniques … 135 Figure 6.9: Principles Added versus Preference … 138 Figure 6.10: Additional Principles versus Most Meaningful Ranking - Viewpoint # 1 … 139 Figure 6.11: Techniques Added versus Preference … 140 Figure 6.12: Additional Techniques versus Most Meaningful Ranking - Viewpoint # 1 … 141 Figure 6.13: Increase in Meaningfulness between Images … 142 Figure 6.14: Response to Principles - Less Familiar Participants … 147 Figure 6.15: Five Unexpected ‘Key Findings’ … 150 CHAPTER SEVEN – IMPLICATIONS Figure 7.1: The Guidelines of this Research Presented in a Concise Format … 152 Figure 7.2: Inconclusive Techniques … 176 vii ~ CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION ~ 1.1 CONTEXT Sense of place is an elusive concept. As defined by Steele, sense of place is “the pattern of reactions that a setting stimulates for a person. These reactions are a product of both the features of the setting and aspects the person brings to it (1981: 12).” While this seems straightforward, Tuan discusses a similar relationship between humans and their settings as topophilia or “the affective bond between people and place or setting. [Topophilia is] diffuse as concept, vivid and concrete as personal experience (1974: 4).” Similarly, Norberg-Schulz explores the genius loci or “[the] living ecological relationship between an observer and an environment, a person and a place (1980: 66).” Despite a difference in nomenclature, a review of this seminal literature confirms these authors to be discussing the mutually dependent relationship between conations, cognitions, and affect in place perception. They also suggest a loose hierarchy, with human needs and motivations (conations) being responsible for the way in which we gather and organize information about a setting (cognitions), which in turn leads to some form of emotional response (affect). Beyond these seminal works, sense of place is more confusing. While Tuan (1974), Norberg-Schulz (1980), and Steele (1981) had distinct terminology to describe a similar phenomenon, subsequent literature has made little effort to further clarify these seminal works. Instead, subsequent literature has adopted Steele’s terminology to describe the relationship between humans and the environment, with every author providing a unique definition: 1 Sense of place refers to the connections people have with the land, their perceptions of the relationships between themselves and a place, and is a concept that encompasses symbolic and emotional aspects (Eisenhauer, Krannich, and Blahna, 2000: 422).