The temporal nature of place-making

Abstract

This paper investigates the temporal nature of place-making by focusing on a nature-centred urban regeneration project that has experienced significant change over time. Adopting Ricoeur’s theory of three-fold present, we demonstrate how, through residents’ narratives, place-making is defined temporally through memories (past-in-the-present), experiences (present-in-the-present), and expectations (present-in-the-future). The findings support the notion of place-making as a fluid process but extend this understanding by promoting a temporal logic that is necessary to account for the transformation of meaning over and with time – its past, present and future – and by those who experience it. In doing so, we provide a conceptualisation of place-making as multi-temporal. The importance of celebrating the distinctiveness of place based on how it is experienced, and embracing its temporal nature directly supports place marketing and place branding activities. We further contribute to the marketing literature by offering insight into a temporal logic that affects and ultimately shapes consumption processes and how these materialise through narratives of time.