This photo captures a sense of place for me. It’s a view of Segovia with the blue mountains in the distance. The colours of the buildings and their rooftops seem classic Segovia to me. And although you don’t get to see how the streets are laid out from this perspective you still get a feel for it. You know somehow that this isn’t a modern city built on a grid plan for example.
I think it’s the view of the mountains on the horizon which gives us the idea that this is an inland town, fairly high up above sea level. Or is that just because I’ve been there and experienced it?
I grew up in Stirling in Central Scotland and every time I go I have the same tugging at my heartstrings and the same feeling of deep belonging the moment I see the castle high up on the rock with the Ochil Hills as a backdrop.
I lived for many years in Edinburgh and it would be hard to miss the influence of both the castle in the middle of the city and the immense Arthur’s Seat when you are there. There’s also something special about Edinburgh’s street layout with the hugely contrasting Old and New Towns separated by Princes Street Gardens.
How about where you live? What do you think it is about the geography of the place, the architecture of the buildings or the patterns of the streets which give you a strong sense of place when you are there?
And have you ever wondered how those features, those environments, influence your psyche and that of the other people who live there?
Heroes Not Zombies 
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