This paper brings together two previously disengaged literatures on affect and place in order to investigate the importance of embodiment in transforming spaces into places. This brings into sharp relief the mismatch between policy rhetoric on the importance of sense of place and the outputs of regeneration schemes which often seem deliberately to efface these affective connections. The paper outlines the idea of ‘rescue geography’ as a technique for capturing the embodied relationship between communities and urban spaces prior to redevelopment. A case study using walked interviews in Birmingham’s Eastside district is discussed. It is concluded that capturing existing place associations can help to create more authentic regeneration schemes which respond sympathetically to landscapes already soaked in affective connections.
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