1.3.2 Changing Places - Meaning and Representation Flashcards
What does the meaning of a place mean?
How people perceive a place
A place’s meaning is socially constructed through a person’s individual identity, perspective and prior experiences and sociocultural positioning
What were the events of the Stockport riots 2024?
- Axel Rudakubana stabbed 7 young girls at a dance workshop and 3 died
- Rumours about him being a Muslim asylum seeker started after a lack of information
- Rudakubana was actually born in Cardiff to a Christian family (parents from Rwanda) but was not disclosed as he was U18
- Tommy Robinson, Elon Musk and Nigel Farage were part of the online commenters
- Started the ‘Enough is Enough’ anti migrant protests with tens of thousands of protestors
- Migrant hotels and shops were targeted
What were some of the online comments?
Tommy Robinson (EDL) - blamed mass migration
Elon Musk - ‘civil war is inevitable’
Nigel Farage - questioned whether murders were really not terror
Keir Starmer - ‘no excuse for disorder or comments’
Police - ‘not terror related’
What distinct sides emerged?
- White left-behind communities
- Muslim community
- Labour government
What is the white working class community’s perception of the Stockport riots?
Prior engagement with Stockport:
- Lived there for generations
- Some poorer groups felt left behind
- Living in poor housing or homeless while asylum seekers were in hotels on benefits (government taking away hospitals and housing for locals, migrants getting help above locals)
Experience of 2024 events:
- Angry that Muslim/asylum seeker has attacked young girls
- Don’t trust police/authorities’ declaration of it not being terror related
- Sucked into information vacuum which was exploited by online trolls
- Felt lied to and frustrated
Meaning of Stockport and riots:
- Feel ignored in their own community
- Feel invaded by migrants
- Feel marginalised (‘Two Tier Keir’ - protestors were dealt with much more harshly than BLM protests)
- Feel justified in rioting
What is the Labour government’s perception of the Stockport riots?
Prior engagement with Stockport:
- Limited engagement with these areas
Experience of the 2024 events:
- Protected identity of the boy as he was 17
- Blame online comments
- Released other criminals from prison early to make space for lengthy jail sentence for rioters
Meaning of Stockport and riots:
- Riots are simply the result of ‘far right thugs’ and ‘online trolls’
- Feel like the problem will go away after arrests
What is the Muslim community’s perception of the Stockport riots?
Prior engagement with Stockport:
- Large Muslim community
- Live and work there
- Have businesses and mosques there
- Feel like it is ‘their place’ (settled)
Experience of the 2024 events:
- Unfairly blamed
-Targeted by anti-Islam and racist feelings
- Fearful and unsafe
- Shops, businesses and mosques were attacked
Meaning of Stockport and riots:
- Feel fearful of local white community
- Unsafe
- Riots just a symptom and the cause was islamophobia/racism
- Divided community and segregation
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How is the Lake District represented by Lake District Farmers?
- They are farmers that want to use provenance to charge more for their beef
Words = sustainable, natural, net zero cattle farming/meat products. regenerative farming
Imagery = pristine environment seen from scenery, family owned farm, community
How is the Lake District represented by Visit Lake District?
- Organisation promoting tourism in the Lake District
- Target is more people, more young people and more wealthy people
‘Radiant beauty’, ‘adventure capital’, ‘taste capital’
How is the Lake District represented by Invest in South Lakeland?
- Want businesses to move to and invest in Cumbria
Imagery/words = innovative, hardworking/skilled labour force, good roads/infrastructure (M6), ‘2.5h from London’ (inaccurate)
Images of modern industrial facilities
Upbeat music
How is the Lake District represented by Cumbria University?
- Want more people to apply and more diverse/international students
‘No1 university for employability in NW England’ - vocational courses
Images = photo selection includes a majority of non-white/diverse/international students due to lack of
How is the Lake District represented by Sellafield Nuclear Power?
- Nuclear power station promoting safety and saying that they are a vital part of the UK
Mentioned ‘safe’ 6+ times in 3minute video (wearing safety equipment aswell)
Had huge investment, high number of skilled jobs, production in UK contributes to new plants
Biggest construction site in Europe (jobs)
Recycling nuclear sludge into energy (20% of UK energy)
Purposeful music
How is the Lake District represented by iLiveHere and Crap Towns book?
- Purpose is entertainment (humour) and honesty to shine a light on deprived places so they can get help
‘Who can smash the most glass is the favourite sport’
‘It bristles with the Burberry clad’
What are the two types of representation of a place?
- Formal
- Informal
What does the census data from 1991 and 2021 in Brick Lane show?
Increase in population = more HMOs
More males than females = male dominated industries, women may not feel safe
Fewer u15s and over65s = fewer families and less targeted demographic
More white people = gentrification (white graduates and students)
Fewer unemployed = more wealth, more opportunities
More owner occupied/rented from private landlord houses = wealthier people
Fewer houses rented from housing association/local authority = right to buy, wealthier people, decreased poorer residents
