4.3
Place Attachment
People have a strong commitment to “home” and a desire to stay in place amidst the climate crisis.
4.3
Place Attachment
People have a strong commitment to “home” and a desire to stay in place amidst the climate crisis.
4.3
Place Attachment
People have a strong commitment to “home” and a desire to stay in place amidst the climate crisis.
The decision to stay can be just as difficult as the one to leave. Identity, culture, and history are built upon a sense of place: "The most important thing is the link with the land. To preserve a rich cultural heritage, you must stay in your own country.” [1]
The decision to stay can be just as difficult as the one to leave. Identity, culture, and history are built upon a sense of place: "The most important thing is the link with the land. To preserve a rich cultural heritage, you must stay in your own country.” [1]
The decision to stay can be just as difficult as the one to leave. Identity, culture, and history are built upon a sense of place: "The most important thing is the link with the land. To preserve a rich cultural heritage, you must stay in your own country.” [1]
Figure 1
People in the Greater Caribbean prefer to stay home. Most have no desire or plans to move.
Question: When thinking about mobility, which of the following applies to you as an individual?
Concrete plans to move
Considering and able to
Considering and unable to
No desire and no plans to move
No plans to move but feel forced to
Don't know / refuse to answer
Source: GCCMI Survey data, 2024. Based on surveys in 14 communities across 6 countries in the Greater Caribbean region.
Figure 1
People in the Greater Caribbean prefer to stay home. Most have no desire or plans to move.
Question: When thinking about mobility, which of the following applies to you as an individual?
Concrete plans to move
Considering and able to
Considering and unable to
No desire and no plans to move
No plans to move but feel forced to
Don't know / refuse to answer
Source: GCCMI Survey data, 2024. Based on surveys in 14 communities across 6 countries in the Greater Caribbean region.
Figure 1
People in the Greater Caribbean prefer to stay home. Most have no desire or plans to move.
Question: When thinking about mobility, which of the following applies to you as an individual?
Concrete plans to move
Considering and able to
Considering and unable to
No desire and no plans to move
No plans to move but feel forced to
Don't know / refuse to answer
Source: GCCMI Survey data, 2024. Based on surveys in 14 communities across 6 countries in the Greater Caribbean region.
For many in the Greater Caribbean, the idea of leaving “home” is unimaginable. Older generations, Indigenous communities, and those with little or no primary education display a preference to stay. Those who live in areas that have experienced only limited climate impacts can also see permanent relocation as unnecessary and undesirable. In Jamaica, for example, mobility was seen as a natural part of life, but one that usually involves a return home.
For many in the Greater Caribbean, the idea of leaving “home” is unimaginable. Older generations, Indigenous communities, and those with little or no primary education display a preference to stay. Those who live in areas that have experienced only limited climate impacts can also see permanent relocation as unnecessary and undesirable. In Jamaica, for example, mobility was seen as a natural part of life, but one that usually involves a return home.
For many in the Greater Caribbean, the idea of leaving “home” is unimaginable. Older generations, Indigenous communities, and those with little or no primary education display a preference to stay. Those who live in areas that have experienced only limited climate impacts can also see permanent relocation as unnecessary and undesirable. In Jamaica, for example, mobility was seen as a natural part of life, but one that usually involves a return home.
"The truth is that no, I've never considered leaving. There's no place in the world like Flagaman. It's the best community in Jamaica. People migrate to work and go to school, but eventually they come home and some of them even start businesses to help support the local economy and build the community.”
Focus group participant, Jamaica
"The truth is that no, I've never considered leaving. There's no place in the world like Flagaman. It's the best community in Jamaica. People migrate to work and go to school, but eventually they come home and some of them even start businesses to help support the local economy and build the community.”
Focus group participant, Jamaica
"The truth is that no, I've never considered leaving. There's no place in the world like Flagaman. It's the best community in Jamaica. People migrate to work and go to school, but eventually they come home and some of them even start businesses to help support the local economy and build the community.”
Focus group participant, Jamaica
Even when climate impacts force people from their homes, deep running roots motivate them to endure hardships to be able to return. In Santa Lucía, Colombia, a participant recounted how he moved temporarily to Bogotá after severe flooding in 2010 and worked difficult jobs to save enough to return home: "To survive, I had to recycle, and little by little, thanks to recycling, I saved my ticket and returned to my city. So, it's better to starve to death here than to die somewhere else." [2] For communities across the region, temporary labour mobility - even under difficult conditions - is worth the cost for preserving their relationship to home. What counts is the ability to return.
Even when climate impacts force people from their homes, deep running roots motivate them to endure hardships to be able to return. In Santa Lucía, Colombia, a participant recounted how he moved temporarily to Bogotá after severe flooding in 2010 and worked difficult jobs to save enough to return home: "To survive, I had to recycle, and little by little, thanks to recycling, I saved my ticket and returned to my city. So, it's better to starve to death here than to die somewhere else." [2] For communities across the region, temporary labour mobility - even under difficult conditions - is worth the cost for preserving their relationship to home. What counts is the ability to return.
Even when climate impacts force people from their homes, deep running roots motivate them to endure hardships to be able to return. In Santa Lucía, Colombia, a participant recounted how he moved temporarily to Bogotá after severe flooding in 2010 and worked difficult jobs to save enough to return home: "To survive, I had to recycle, and little by little, thanks to recycling, I saved my ticket and returned to my city. So, it's better to starve to death here than to die somewhere else." [2] For communities across the region, temporary labour mobility - even under difficult conditions - is worth the cost for preserving their relationship to home. What counts is the ability to return.
Figure 2
Place attachment is deepest among older people, who express a strong preference to stay in place.
Regression analysis of GCCMI Survey data. Preference to stay, plotted against respondents’ age.
Source: GCCMI Survey data, 2024. Based on surveys in 14 communities across 6 countries in the Greater Caribbean region.
Figure 2
Place attachment is deepest among older people, who express a strong preference to stay in place.
Regression analysis of GCCMI Survey data. Preference to stay, plotted against respondents’ age.
Source: GCCMI Survey data, 2024. Based on surveys in 14 communities across 6 countries in the Greater Caribbean region.
Figure 2
Place attachment is deepest among older people, who express a strong preference to stay in place.
Regression analysis of GCCMI Survey data. Preference to stay, plotted against respondents’ age.
Source: GCCMI Survey data, 2024. Based on surveys in 14 communities across 6 countries in the Greater Caribbean region.
Place attachment is linked to age. If communities across the Greater Caribbean are keen to stay in place, this is especially true of the older generation. The cultural attachment of the elderly to their homes makes them unwilling to leave, even in the face of rising climate threats like Hurricane Dorian in Grand Bahama:
Place attachment is linked to age. If communities across the Greater Caribbean are keen to stay in place, this is especially true of the older generation. The cultural attachment of the elderly to their homes makes them unwilling to leave, even in the face of rising climate threats like Hurricane Dorian in Grand Bahama:
Place attachment is linked to age. If communities across the Greater Caribbean are keen to stay in place, this is especially true of the older generation. The cultural attachment of the elderly to their homes makes them unwilling to leave, even in the face of rising climate threats like Hurricane Dorian in Grand Bahama:
"My grandfather didn't want to leave. He was the only one living there, he must have been 78 or 79 at the time, and he didn't want to move. He wanted to stay in that big house, alone, and if anything had happened to him, I don't think he would have cared because he would have been in his house. So, it was very emotional for my family, because they didn't want anything to happen to their father. But it's, I think it's the relationship that Bahamians have with their home or the idea that they have of their home.”
Focus group participant, The Bahamas
"My grandfather didn't want to leave. He was the only one living there, he must have been 78 or 79 at the time, and he didn't want to move. He wanted to stay in that big house, alone, and if anything had happened to him, I don't think he would have cared because he would have been in his house. So, it was very emotional for my family, because they didn't want anything to happen to their father. But it's, I think it's the relationship that Bahamians have with their home or the idea that they have of their home.”
Focus group participant, The Bahamas
"My grandfather didn't want to leave. He was the only one living there, he must have been 78 or 79 at the time, and he didn't want to move. He wanted to stay in that big house, alone, and if anything had happened to him, I don't think he would have cared because he would have been in his house. So, it was very emotional for my family, because they didn't want anything to happen to their father. But it's, I think it's the relationship that Bahamians have with their home or the idea that they have of their home.”
Focus group participant, The Bahamas
References
Focus group participant, Antigua and Barbuda
Focus group participant, Colombia
References
Focus group participant, Antigua and Barbuda
Focus group participant, Colombia
References
Focus group participant, Antigua and Barbuda
Focus group participant, Colombia
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