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The National Trust worked with research agency Walnut Unlimited and academics from the University of Surrey to identify what place means to people – specifically, what happens to the brain when people are in places that have a special meaning to them.

The functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study measured how respondents’ brains reacted to places of significance. Complemented by qualitative and quantitative research, it reinforced the strong emotional responses places can generate. 

“This opens a window into the brain, allowing us to explore automatic emotional responses, scientifically demonstrating a tangible link between people and places that is often difficult to describe verbally,” said Dr Andy Myers, director at Walnut Unlimited.

In the fMRI study, 20 people were shown three images, in no particular order:

• of places and objects meaningful to them (that they had supplied before the study)

• of everyday places and objects

• from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) – a database of standardised positive and negative images for studying emotion, which have been quantified for their emotional content.

Researchers looked for areas of the brain that were more engaged when viewing places with emotional importance, identifying three response areas: the left amygdala; the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC); and the parahippocampal place area (PPA). 

They found that meaningful places elicit a significantly higher response in the amygdala than common places, suggesting that simply seeing an image of a meaningful place is enough to trigger an automatic, unconscious, emotional response. 

As well as showing increased emotional response to meaningful places, the study indicated that places have greater emotional meaning for people than objects; the brain’s response to special places was much higher than the response elicited by objects such as a wedding ring or a photograph.

The researchers also carried out an online survey of 2,000 people to quantify the link between people and places, and did qualitative research with 11 members of the public. Their findings highlight that being in a place an individual deems to be significant generates emotions such as joy, feeling calm and being energised. 

The study also reinforced the belief that meaningful places can offer people space to contemplate, thereby aiding wellbeing. In a context of rising anxiety, stress and depression in the UK, the research showed the positive role places can play in helping people feel calm and think through problems. 

The proportion of respondents who said their special place makes them feel calm was 64%, while more than half ( 53%) said it offers an escape from everyday life, and 43% said it helps them to re-evaluate their stresses and worries.

Places also play an important role in shaping identity and people’s connections with others, the research suggests, with 86% of respondents agreeing with the statement ‘I feel like this place is part of me’. Almost all respondents wanted to preserve their meaningful place ( 92%) and a large majority ( 79%) talked of a strong desire to share their connection to the place with others. In addition, more than three-quarters ( 79%) reported experiencing an ‘internal pull’ that drives them to visit their meaningful place. 

Nino Strachey, head of research and specialist advice at the National Trust, said finding the strong connection between people and places underpins the organisation’s work. 

“For many people, the strength of their connection to a place means they have a strong desire to protect it,” she says. “This desire echoes the work that the National Trust does.”