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Little is known about how place attachment affects natural hazard risk perception and coping. A systematic search of social science databases revealed 31 works (1996–2016) that directly address place attachment in relation to natural hazard risk or natural environmental risks (seismic, volcanic, etc.). Across different contexts, the research shows: (a) both positive and negative relations between place attachment and natural environmental risk perception; (b) both positive and negative relations between place attachment and risk coping; and (c) mediating and moderating relations. In particular, results show that: (a) strongly attached individuals perceive natural environmental risks but underestimate their potential effects; (b) strongly attached individuals are unwilling to relocate when facing natural environmental risks and are more likely to return to risky areas after a natural environmental disaster; (c) place attachment acts both as a mediating and moderating variable between risk perception and coping. Place attachment should play a more significant role in natural hazard risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the validation by confirmatory factor analysis of abbreviated versions of instruments focusing on the neighborhood residential level, perceived residential environment quality indicators (PREQIs), and neighborhood attachment (NA). A sample of 1,488 residents in various neighborhoods of 11 Italian middle- and low-population cities filled in a questionnaire including 12 scales (N = 158), 11 PREQ scales, and 1 NA scale. The sample was randomly split-half in a calibration sample and a validation sample. Results showed good fit indexes for factorial structures including overall 19 PREQIs and 1 NA indicators, each one composed of three or four items (N = 66). Despite the high reduction of items, the shortened PREQIs and NA yield good or at least acceptable internal consistency, and fulfill convergent and discriminant construct validity criteria. Hence, they are well suited for use in research designs focusing on multiple measures of environmental quality of residential places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of mass media in the construction of debated environmental issues is discussed, with reference to biodiversity conservation policies. The articles in a local daily newspaper (Il Tirreno) about the designation of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park in Italy have been content analyzed, before and after the park designation. In a quantitative study, two lexical correspondence analyses were conducted, on the titles and bodies of a selection of articles, respectively. A qualitative content analysis of the selected material was also performed to deepen and broaden the quantitative study. Results revealed the salience of a local-regional political conflict in the representation of the park designation, with particular emphasis on the issue of local identity: Local activism appears to function as a territorial defense against external intrusion from a centralized authority. This authority is perceived as limiting the interests and freedom of local communities. The implications of the results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the main tenets of the UNESCO Programme on Man and Biosphere (MAB), launched by the United Nations at the beginning of the 1970s. The program aimed at supporting applied research and scientific knowledge for managing natural resources in a rational and sustainable way. The implication of the full ecological perspective, typical of the MAB, for promoting multidisciplinary and integrated approaches in the study of environmental issues is briefly outlined. In particular, we point out the role of the MAB, through the biosphere reserve concept, in supporting the collaboration between natural-biological and social-behavioral sciences when dealing with biodiversity conservation problems and with urban ecosystems. Then, the specific UNESCO-MAB Project on the city of Rome, launched at the end of the 1980s, is briefly presented, together with the recent project of the Department of the Environment of the Rome Municipality to propose Rome's urban and periurban green areas as a new UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve. The results of the main research activities conducted therein are summarized. In particular, the specific research lines of the environmental psychology research group, involved in the MAB-Rome Project for approximately two decades, are presented. These research lines dealt with various aspects of residents environmental perceptions and behaviors in the city of Rome. The practical implications of these results are also briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]