IAD Spring 2025 Seminar: Place Attachment, Regional Identity and Perceptions of Urbanization in Moshi, Tanzania

In rural areas on the peri-urban fringe of rapidly expanding African cities, urbanization can be interpreted and conceived as an unwelcome change threatening traditional ways of life and personal and community cultural identity of rural areas with customary land tenure arrangements and generally ethnically homogenous populations. We examine the relationship between place attachment and residents’ perceptions of various aspects of urban life, using Moshi, Tanzania, located in a region long identified with the Chagga people, as a case study. We utilize a survey of approximately 700 respondents, stratified by location, and use principal component analysis to construct variables for place attachment, perceptions of cities, and perceived risks associated with urbanization. Utilizing stepwise regression techniques, we find that there was a significant decrease in levels of place attachment between rural, per-urban, and urban locations. We also find that residents who associate the city with more negative characteristics report higher levels of place attachment. This suggests that urbanization is perceived as a threat to people’s sense of place. Finally, we find that place attachment is positively associated with age, while being Chagga, owning land, and being native to the area are associated with greater levels of place attachment.

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