Belonging is a complex, shifting experience with multiple layers of meaning and practice. Belonging involves feelings of safety, connection, familiarity, and attachment to people and places. It reflects how we locate ourselves within social, cultural and physical contexts. Belonging is shaped by how we are viewed and treated by others. It arises from forging relationships, gaining acceptance, and finding common ground. However, belonging is also a matter of perception and can be challenged. Feeling out of place or excluded undermines belonging. Belonging is strongly tied to identity, as we tend to belong where we feel we can be fully ourselves. But identity is multifaceted, so we may belong in some ways but not others. Belonging is also linked to citizenship and rights. Having legal status provides stability but cannot guarantee genuine social inclusion or erase experiences of otherness. Belonging is a dynamic process, not a fixed state. It evolves with life transitions and in response to societal changes. Belonging requires ongoing negotiation to bridge divisions and reconcile different aspects of who we are. It involves strategic navigations around barriers to find connections within environments that are not always accepting or designed to facilitate belonging. But through claiming space and participation, belonging emerges within shared landscapes and through shared experiences. Belonging highlights the tensions between inclusivity and exclusivity. Discourses of belonging can be mobilized both to open access to resources and opportunities as well as to deny them. Belonging is expressed through the meanings we give to places, communities and natural environments. These valuations reflect not just how we relate to our surroundings but also our senses of identity, agency, and entitlement. However, only certain elements of belonging tend to gain recognition as valid claims for inclusion or protection. More complex experiences of belonging often remain unacknowledged in policy debates. In sum, belonging is a multi-dimensional experience that shapes and is shaped by how we locate ourselves socially, culturally and spatially. Belonging arises in relationships but also through participation and claiming space. It provides stability yet is subject to constant negotiation. Belonging is linked to identity, rights, citizenship and community but can be fraught with tensions around inclusion and exclusion, otherness and marginality. Belonging is expressed through the meanings we give to places but only selectively translated into political claims or solutions. Belonging is a vital yet complex human need that requires understanding across its many layers and forms.