ABSTRACT
The spatial implications of marine spatial planning (MSP) are particularly important within the context of sustainable coastal transitions literature as many coastal areas are undergoing rapid sociotechnical change, of which the impact on the local community is unclear. Drawing on these insights and using Q methodology, this chapter seeks to elicit the perception of the potential economic impact of MSP across different scales, including households, coastal, rural versus urban communities, regional and national level. The focus of Q methodology is on identifying shared ways of thinking about an issue through revealing number of different discourses. In Q methodology, participants are asked to organise a pre-determined number of statements into a range of categories according to which they agree with the most, or the least. The discourse held by respondents loading on to Factor 1 will be referred to as 'place-makers', respondents loading on to Factor 2 will be referred to as 'place-holders' and respondents loading on to factor 3, 'place-less'.
