changing spaces, making places

• what is a place?

  • location + meaning

  • subjective

  • they are multi faceted shaped by shifting flows and connections which change over time
• what characteristics make up the identity of a place?

  • settlement pattern

  • transport routes and eventually individual buildings become more visible
• what characteristics interact to make the identity of a place at a local scale?

  • physical geog (altitude, slope angle)

  
  

  • demography (no. of inhabitants, their age, gender and ethnicity)

  
  

  • socio-economic (employment, income, education)

  
  

  • cultural (religion, local traditions)

  
  

  • Political, e.g. local, regional and national government, local groups such as resident associations

  
  

  • Built environment, e.g. age and style of buildings including building materials, density of housing
• space


  • the physical gap or interval between two objects

  • objective

  • does not have meanings

  • one persons 'space' may be another's 'place
• what factors affect perception?

  • age

  • gender

  • sexuality

  • religion and role in society. This last factor is closely related to education and socioeconomic status.
• how does age affect perception?

  • People's perceptions change as they get older. Think of how perceptions of the same place, a local park for example, might alter through time.

  
  

  • Many people move through a life cycle that Involves changing their resugence and therefore they night live. Such restlence and associled with changes to income Or family size.
• how does gender affect perception?

  the roles men and women have been identified and mapped. These areas centre are reflected in the way the two groups can move

  
  

  male places - public (ie sporting events, offices)

  female places - private ('the woman's place is the home')
• can gender affect how safe you feel?

  some women feel excluded from certain places and avoid them in fear of their safety

  • they feel they need to be aware and prepared to protect themselves. ie wear flat shoes so you can run, walk facing oncoming traffic, don't wear headphones

  
  

  • stories of Sarah Everhard, Sabina Nessa
• how can sexuality affect perception?

  • LGBTQ+ groups tend to cluster together for a sense of security, community and an area where they can be themselves. Can also gain political power

  • LGBTQ+ is becoming more accepted

  • Gay village in Manchester

  • Brighton is the 'Capital of LGBTQ+'

  • gay zones which are centred around bars, restaurants and clubs that are gay friendly
• what is the 'pink pound'

  money brought in to the country from the profit of LGBTQ+ community purchases

  is important in some locations

  in helping regeneration and the rebranding of places.
• how can religion affect perception?

  People have given locations spiritual meanings for millennia. Some natural landscape features are sacred to certain groups of people. je sandstone Uluru (australia indigenous people)

  
  

  places of importance for religion include:

  • synagogues, churches and mosques

  • Lourdes - holy spring of water, curative qualities
• how can role affect our perception?

  • roles can make us act differently and view places differently

  • teachers on a trip

  • sixth formers have independence and responsibility but are also a student

  • as we go through life we gain and lose roles we change, so do our attitudes and our perceptions
• what is a primal landscape?


  an area where memories are created as a child

  often becomes a place of comfort where when we become older we seek to find again

  nostalgic
• what did ye fu tuan say about place?

  - a place comes into existence when people give it meaning

  - those that govern cities focus more on economic & commercial activities rather than social needs

  - sanctuary of the home is our most important shelter
• what did Doreen Massey say about place?

  - places are being reworked through processes of globalisation rather than annihilated by it

  - places are the way they are due to being a product of our inter relations with everywhere else

  - places are dynamic
• what 2 levels can places have meanings?

  - personal

  - communal
• what is a placeless space?

  - something that is all the same, no personal connection
• what do we mean by places becoming homogenous?

  - they are undifferentiated

  - exactly the same
• what is meant by 'a strong sense of place'


  - places that have been given stronger meanings, name for definitions by society
• what is meant by a sense of place?

  - a characteristic that some geographic places have and some don't

  - a feeling or perception held by people

  - doesn't have to be positive
• factors affecting perception?


  gender

  religion

  age

  sexuality

  role performed
• what is Edward said's theory of othering? (emotional attachment)

  - people become more aware of their own identity when they encounter difference

  eg rival gangs in urban neighbourhoods and genocide

  
  

  - fear of difference (Hatred) causes the want to eliminate those who are seen as inferior
• how is retreating of identities caused by emotional attachment?

  - UK Brexit referendum

  > some people create a bond through the act of thinking negatively about other places

  > reject other places, to feel stronger about their own

  
  

  - COVID

  > fear, isolation, stay at home

  
  

  - fragmentation of the Middle East by the rise of Daesh (ISIS)
• cultural influence on emotions and actions?

  the culture we belong to influence our lifestyles and in turn our emotions and creates boundaries for our behaviours

  
  

  > culture relates to our clothes, manners and customs; these all create boundaries for actions

  > not all cultural groups are treated the same; this evokes strong emotions and actions

  
  

  case study of the Kurds
• what are the 2 ways places are represented by the media?

  formal representations

  informal representations
• What are some examples of formal representation?

  - census data

  - crime figures

  - rainfall totals

  - distribution of soil types

  - road network
• What are some examples of informal representation?


  - music

  - film

  - literature

  - photography

  - blogs
• how can tv and film represent places?

  - offer sounds and sights

  - the lens of a camera can give wide angled views of places, perhaps showing geographical context

  - camera can zoom in on the detail of a place

  - television soaps can represent the lives of local people

  - films can promote tourism

  
  

  eg Billy Elliot (County Durham)
• what are the issues with informal representations of place?

  - subjective

  - over dramatised

  - does not necessarily reflect the actual world
• what are formal representations of place?

  - tend to be more objective, based on facts (statistics)

  - geospatial data (particular area) is information that identifies the geographic location and characteristics of natural features and boundaries on the earth
• what is globalisation?


  increasing interconnectedness and interdependence of the world, economically, socially, politically and culturally

  
  

  changes the ways in which people experience and understand places
• what is the global village?

  world has become 'smaller' due to better connections
• what is Time-Space Compression?

  a set of processes leading to a 'shrinking world' caused by reductions in the relative distance between places eg travel time
• positive impacts of globalisation?

  - people may have an opportunity to escape places they fear eg hazards and war

  
  

  - increased labour mobility sometimes means ethnic diversity increases in areas. this attracts new restaurants and services to an area thus changing the cultural and built environment
• negative impacts of globalisation?

  - can make people feel isolated or dislocated from their place

  
  

  - manufacturing can be done where it is cheapest. human rights in factories not equal and fair
• what are the 6 characteristics that interact to give a place an identity?

  - physical geography eg relief, aspect

  - demographics eg age, gender, ethnicity

  - socio-economic status eg employment type, income

  - culture eg religion, societies, language

  - political eg local resident groups

  - built environment eg housing type, density
• what is place identity?

  involves the view and perspectives of a place that people create about the area
• what is a knowledge economy?

  > moving towards a service/ quaternary sector economy. More wealth

  > gathering and analysing more data
• what are shifting flows?

  the movement of people, jobs, skills, knowledge, trade, tech, wealth, investment, resources
• what is the standard of living?

  the ability to access services + goods