Sense of Belonging
The concept of a sense of belonging is defined as the emotional connection that a person has with their physical surroundings, and it has positive outputs on participation in social life and health (Kitchen et al., 2012). As people develop a sense of belonging to a place, their quality of life improves through improvement in their physical and psychological well-being and increased satisfaction with social relationships and physical surroundings (Tartaglia, 2012).
According to Pinkster and Boterman (2017), the sense of belonging felt to a living space develops as part of one's relationship with neighbours. Housing evokes a sense of safety, physical and psychological comfort; it is the place to which people develop the highest sense of belonging.
Oldenburg (1991) has identified the “third place” as a place (such as coffee shops or libraries) that people regularly visit besides their houses and workplaces, where they meet and communicate with their friends, and others (Mehta & Bosson, 2010). In time people develop a sense of belonging to these third places where they feel comfortable (Dolley & Bosman, 2019).
The concept of a sense of belonging to space and socialization has taken on a different dimension in the late 20th century due to technology as people spend more time for socializing in cyberspace (Delaney & Madigan, 2017). Studies reveal that the advancement of technologies may lead to senses of belonging altering, which, in turn, may affect the experiences related to space (Strayhorn, 2018).