Topophilia (From Greek ''topos'' "place" and ''-philia'', "love of") is a strong sense of place, which often becomes mixed with the sense of

cultural identity Cultural identity is a part of a person's identity, or their self-conception and self-perception, and is related to nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, locality or any kind of social group that has its own distinct cultur ...

among certain people and a love of certain aspects of such a place.

History of the term

Alan Watts Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was an English writer, speaker and self-styled "philosophical entertainer", known for interpreting and popularising Japanese, Chinese and Indian traditions of Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu ...

's autobiography, ''In My Own Way'' (1972), starts with the sentence: "Topophilia is a word invented by the British poet

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

for a special love for peculiar places." But it was

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry was noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in ...

who used the term in his 1948 introduction to John Betjeman's poetry book ''Slick but Not Streamlined'', stressing that the term "has little in common with nature love" but depended upon a landscape infused with a sense of history. The term later appeared in the French philosopher

Gaston Bachelard Gaston Bachelard (; ; 27 June 1884 – 16 October 1962) was a French philosopher. He made contributions in the fields of poetics and the philosophy of science. To the latter, he introduced the concepts of ''epistemological obstacle'' and '' epi ...

's highly influential ''

The Poetics of Space ''The Poetics of Space'' (french: La Poétique de l'Espace) is a 1958 book about architecture by the French philosopher Gaston Bachelard. The book is considered an important work about art. Commentators have compared Bachelard's views to those of ...

'' (1958).

Yi-Fu Tuan Yi-Fu Tuan (; December 5, 1930 – August 10, 2022) was a Chinese-born American geographer. He was one of the key figures in human geography and arguably the most important originator of humanistic geography. Early life and education Born in ...

employed the term for the feeling-link between person and place as part of his development of a humanistic geography.P/ C. Adams et al, ''Textures of Place'' (2001) p. 41 James W. Gibson, in his book ''A Reenchanted World'' (2009) also argues that topophilia or "love of place" is a biologically based, close cultural connection to place. Gibson says that such connections mostly have been destroyed in modernity but argues that "more and more people are trying to reinvent them."

In relation to local sports

Mike Cronin in his article "Enshrined in Blood the Naming of Gaelic Athletic Association Grounds and Clubs" (''The Sports Historian'', 18, 1) has noted the opportunities sport stadia have for topophilia. Referring to the work of sports geographer John Bale, he cites five metaphors that make stadiums particularly topophilic: # They are 'sacred spaces' for their followers, particularly if euphoric or tragic incidents have taken place within them, such as the

Hillsborough disaster The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the ...

. # They often have 'scenic' qualities, such as the view of the

Gateway Arch The Gateway Arch is a monument in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary arch, it is the world's tallest arch and Missouri's tallest accessible building. Some sources conside ...

Busch Stadium Busch Stadium (also referred to informally as "New Busch Stadium" or "Busch Stadium III") is a baseball stadium located in St. Louis, Missouri. The stadium serves as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) f ...

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. # As a 'home' to the team and the fans, it can have psychological advantages to both. # The stadium might be a 'tourist' attraction to visitors, a must-see venue. Some stadiums, such as the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

have fee-charging tours when matches are not even occurring. # Deep local pride and patriotism may be tied up with particular stadiums or arenas.

Use in the media

''Topophilia'', a feature-length documentary from 2015 by artist

Peter Bo Rappmund Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

that follows the

Trans-Alaska Pipeline The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is an oil transportation system spanning Alaska, including the trans-Alaska crude-oil pipeline, 11 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. TAPS is one o ...

Dark side

Topophilia also has a darker side, serving as a motive force behind nationalism and social exclusion, and even extending sometimes to the

nazist Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

celebration of Blood and Soil. Robert Macfarlane, ''Landmarks'' (2015) p. 277

Footnotes

External links