Investigating the link between place attachment, civic engagement, and pro-environmental behaviors

This study investigated two frameworks for examining pro-environmental behavior. We looked at the effect of emotional connection with place, known as place attachment, from an individual perspective, and the effect of cohesion and collective action as civic engagement from a social perspective. Therefore, in addition to assessing the degree of place attachment, we also examined its effect on residents’ civic engagement and pro-environmental behavior. The statistical population of this study consists of people over 18 years of age living in the Eram neighborhood. Of the 265 residents who responded, 25 were removed due to incomplete or biased answers, and the data of 240 people were used. Data was collected using a questionnaire. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis revealed that place attachment is a second-order construct composed of place dependence, place identity, emotional attachment, and social attachment, and that pro-environmental behavior is a second-order factor composed of household behavior, information seeking, and transportation. The results showed that all four dimensions of place attachment have good means and that place attachment and civic engagement positively affect pro-environmental behavior. The Sobel test confirms that the effect of place attachment on pro-environmental behavior is significant through the mediation of civic engagement. This study confirms that feeling attached to the local area encourages participating in voluntary social activities in line with pro-environmental behaviors.