Mengqi Peng

A wide range of environmental disruptions can challenge human well-being, from global climate crisis to urban restructuring programmes. The connection between environmental distress and human distress has been described through the introduction of new terms, coined only recently: eco-anxiety, eco-guilt, eco-grief, etc. Among them, “solastalgia” is a neologism that describes a form of emotional or existential distress caused by environmental disruptions in one’s loved home. It is a complex phenomenon that can have a psychological impact, similar to that experienced by people who are involuntarily displaced. It calls us to reconsider yet again our relationships to place - to ponder the entanglements of emplacement and the dynamism of place, community, and connection.

My research holds both theoretical and applied interests in solastalgia. Theoretically, the research will further the concept of solastalgia. As environmental change has a significant impact on biophysical, social, and temporal landscapes in the local area, solastalgia manifests itself through a loss of sense of place, social fabrics, ways of knowing, and future outlook, beyond mental well-being. Empirically, the research will investigate this experienced loss with ethnic minorities affected by dam construction on the Nu River, Yunnan, China, adding an emotional dimension to the study of social impacts of dams, and discussing the people-place relationship in a more comprehensive manner.