Place identity and place dependence: two-fold roles of place attachment on domestic water saving

Abstract Place-based contexts play a significant role in addressing water-related issues. However, the effect of place attachment on domestic water saving remains fully underexplored. This study thereby aims to investigate the impact of place attachment on domestic water-saving intention by differentiating between its emotional and functional aspects, namely, place identity and place dependence, and incorporating them into a behavioral model based on the theory of planned behavior. The study analyzed approximately 400 permanent residents in Jinan City, North China, using a street survey. Estimation of the partial least squares structural equation model revealed that place identity and place dependence exert distinct impacts on domestic water-saving intention for the first time. While the former directly and indirectly exerts a positive influence by attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, the latter exerts a negative direct effect and a positive indirect effect through subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. The findings imply that policies should promote collective memories of success and exhibit the city’s historic architecture and unique cold-spring utilization system to strengthen emotional bonds with local water environments through festival activities and educational campaigns. Moreover, to facilitate domestic water-saving intention, policymakers should influence residents’ attitudes, create a social atmosphere, and popularize water-saving skills through practical activities and water authority website.