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Paper short abstract

In Reykjavík’s historic cemetery Hólavallagarður, trees, animals, and seasonal change intertwine with memory and emotion. This paper shows how urban nature becomes a site of solace, reflection, and intergenerational remembrance.

Paper long abstract

This paper explores place attachment by analysing how memories and emotions shape relationships with places linked to the past. The research is set in downtown Reykjavík, the city’s oldest district—an area imbued with memories and emotional connections for many residents. Data were collected using two complementary methods: solitary walks with audio-visual recording glasses, which captured the participants’ visual and verbal observations as well as ambient sounds, and walk-along interviews conducted together with the researcher.

Within these walks, Hólavallagarður—Reykjavík’s oldest cemetery—emerges as more than a burial ground: it is a green refuge in the city, a site of play and exploration, and a place where memories of loved ones, history, and mortality intertwine. Participants describe the cemetery as a childhood playground, a shortcut in everyday life, and a site of solace and reflection. Graves evoke stories of ancestors, public figures, and tragic fates, while family rituals of visiting and tending to graves sustain intergenerational bonds. Encounters with plants and animals, alongside the presence of the dead, create a layered atmosphere where life and death coexist.

By focusing on Hólavallagarður, we show how urban nature mediates affective engagement with the city, shaping narratives of belonging, continuity, and transience. The cemetery illustrates how natural and cultural elements in urban spaces are entangled in personal and collective memory, and how encounters with urban nature can evoke both tenderness and confrontation with mortality.