The influence of place attachment and social capital on community agency in the Barossa Region of South Australia

Aim
The study sought to understand the importance of community agency in regions, and in so doing, highlight its lack of attention in conventional theories of regional development. In particular, the study sought to understand the specific contributions of both place attachment and social capital impacting community agency led by residents.
Mainstream approaches to regional development tend to focus on specific ad hoc programmes especially economic investments. These programmes are often managed centrally. This can limit the role and dynamics of community agency in shaping the future of towns and regions. This study researches the concept of community agency shaped by place attachment and social capital as reciprocal influences on resident-led management and development of towns in the Barossa region of South Australia.
Community agency in this study is defined as the capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting influence by a community of residents shaping the wellbeing and prosperity of places. In regional Australia, community groups such as ‘town groups’ are common examples of organisations that play a central role constituting the social, cultural, and economic dynamic of towns using community agency. Towns play a vital role for residents as a place for social interaction, a place to generate and activate social and other capitals, and a place to anchor personal as well as social identity through the processes of place attachment.
As a result of place attachment, residents shape the social dynamics, culture and physical configuration of towns that coalesce to influence the wellbeing and prosperity of a region. Furthermore, the study demonstrates how community leadership roles shape the community agency process in place management and development partnerships building strong and resilient communities. Community agency, in this context, offers a more progressive and comprehensive approach to regional development from within a region.

Design/methodology/approach
Ethnomethodology guides ethnographic research methods of photo elicitation, participant observation, in-depth interviews, narrative and thematic analysis of interview data from twelve community leaders across four town groups in the Barossa region of South Australia. A single region is chosen to account for the researcher’s in-depth knowledge of the social, cultural, and economic systems of the Barossa region.
The research design uses Scannell and Gifford’s (2010) Tripartite Model for Place Attachment to segment qualitative interview data to understand the nature of place attachment of community leaders. This was followed by thematic analysis using Seamon’s (2012a, 2014, 2018) Triadic Interpretation of Place to understand how the dynamics of place attachment operate as a series of six interconnected and generative processes that shape community leadership and community agency. Theory on social capital is then used to examine how social networks are used to access intangible capital resources in the community agency process to strengthen, protect or transition towns and the Barossa region. A series of data analysis templates are designed based on place attachment and social capital theory to document the community agency process and the distinctive social capital network systems used to strengthen, protect or transition place.

Findings
A case study of four town groups reveals how socio-technical systems are used in the agency process to influence place management and development partnerships between organisations across the Barossa region. Evidence of this process shows a constant ebb and flow between protecting the qualities of a place lived by its residents and the need to diversify and change places because of disruption and the opportunity to adopt change.
The theory presented in this thesis supports two phenomena guiding community agency, and both are shaped by community leadership. These two phenomena are described by Seamon (2014, 2018) as the ‘Being of Place’ and the ‘Becoming of Place’ and operate together to influence the change process for communities adapting to threats and opportunities. The interaction of these two phenomena raises the contested nature of community agency and the ways it is used to respond to change. Thisis witnessed in the study using theory-based frameworks to analyse place attachment processes and social capital systems interacting together. Both operate as a self-reinforcing cycle supporting each other in the community agency process to drive and shape adaption strategies.
The results show new residents can accelerate their attachment to place, forging strong community networks and building a similar position of trust and authority as long term residents. This may improve community agency through accessing diverse resource networks to bring new knowledge and innovation to a region.
The study concludes by recommending place-strengthening and place sustaining strategies. Of particular importance is the need to strengthen weak ties between community organisations in each town to step-up action from the concern for a town to the concern for a region in response to a critical social incident such as a bushfire, drought or the COVID 19 pandemic. Building the capacity for community agency to strengthen regions from within holds potential to strengthen existing regional development strategies developed by government.

Research limitations/implications
The conclusions drawn reflect the experience of observing community agency over seven years in response to threats or opportunities to transform towns in the Barossa region for a better future. The variability of findings are based on the spatial scale and structure of social network relations and the mix of community cultures and values. Testing the findings in other regions and in other cultural contexts will add further insight and validation of these findings, including the influence of new residents on community agency within established community groups.

The use of photo-elicitation and thematic analysis of elicited narratives was successful in revealing the dimensions of place attachment and warrants further development as a research tool by scholars in phenomenological studies on place. The challenge for future scholars is continuing the development of theory-based research frameworks that can present ethnographic data capturing complex human -place relations that shape place management and regional development.

Social implications
The study reveals that place relations are dynamic, complex and often political. Rural towns display a pattern language of community agency that governments need to understand to engage place management and development partnerships across social, environmental and economic settings. This research offers a methodology to understand the pattern language of community agency shaped by community leadership, place attachment, and social capital. The potential is locally relevant interventions and community capacity building that realises the core function and meaning of ‘place as home’ for residents, motivating participation in community building.

Value
The study demonstrates how place attachment and social capital work together as interlinked systems driving and shaping community agency to strengthen towns and region. A process that can support regional development from within through targeted place management and development partnerships between community, business and government. The study also identifies community leadership roles as a hub, broker and boundary spanner. These roles influence the community agency process to bring a human-centred approach to regional development systems aimed at strengthening the economy and society using local knowledge, resources and networks. Community agency is a critical element to ensuring government investment in regions has a more enduring and targeted impact on the liveability as well as the economic prosperity of towns and regions.