Topophilia describes the affective relationship between an human being and a place, literally the love for a place (Greek: topo= place and -philia= love for). The way people relate to a place can be based on a variety of aspects: narrative, commodified, dependent or ideological, but the strongest attachments are possibly based on the biographical relations. In these cases a place is an elemental piece of personal history, memories or experiences and becomes part of a person's individual identity.
A few years ago I visited NYC and stayed in an apartment with view of the old deserted Domino sugar refinery and the Williamsburg Bridge. I was looking out of the window when I got the message that my grandfather passed away so unexpectedly, and it was there where the idea to give my life a new direction was born. A few month later I finally moved to New York, living in one of the new high rise buildings overlooking the Lower East Side and East River I could still see the lonely factory building and the bridge - that both became inextricably linked to my destiny - everyday.