Region and place II

Abstract

This paper reviews recent research on the nature of local belonging. It highlights how local belonging continues to matter to most people; that it can have individual and collective dimensions; that the notion of a binary opposition between a cosmopolitan outlook and local attachments is unhelpful, but that scales at which we belong may be multiple and changing. The paper explores the class dimensions of belonging, the way belonging is linked to local and regional identity and the role of history in the formation of local attachments. The paper identifies some areas for further research.