2.1.2 The Character of Place Flashcards
Endogenous factors
The internal factors which shape a place’s character.
Exogenous factors
The external factors which shape a place’s character.
Examples of endogenous factors
- Land use
- Built environment and infrastructure
- Demographic and economic characteristics
- Location
- Topography
- Phyiscal factors
Examples of exogenous factors
- Tourism
- Migration
- Flows of investment
- Relative location to other places
Demographic characteristics
Demographic characteristics are to do with who lives in a place and what they’re like – they include factors such as age, gender, education level, religion, birth rates, ethnicity and population size.
How have flows of people affected the demographic characteristics of a place?
For example, on a local scale, younger people have been leaving the Lake District because they are unable to afford to buy a house in the area, leaving an increasingly high proportion of older people.
On an international scale, there are concerns that the large-scale migration from North Africa to Europe that started in 2015 altered the gender balance in some towns – as a high proportion of the migrants are male.
How have flows of money affected the demographic characteristics of a place?
Either by governments of businesses. For example, governments can invest money in specific places in order to attract people to live there. In the UK, the London Docklands Development Corporation was a group set up by the government in 1981 to redevelop the Docklands area of London.
The schemes undertaken by the LDDC improved the economy and the built environment, which resulted in an increase in population in the area – between 1981 and the early 21st century the population more than doubled.
How have the flows of ideas and resources affected the demographic characteristics of a place?
Ideas such as the use of birth control can flow to new places and affect their demographic characteristics. For example, by reducing the birth rate and affecting the population size.
For example, many of the poorest countries in the world have the lowest usage of birth control and rapid population growth. International organisations such as the UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) have been set up to spread knowledge and ideas about birth control, as well as supplying resources to aid birth control.
Cultural characteristics
The cultural characteristics of places are to do with how people live their lives, e.g. the food, customs, clothing, traditions, language, art, attitudes, beliefs and values people have.
How have flows of people affected the cultural characteristics of a place?
New people moving to a place, or even visiting it, bring their culture with them, which can change the characteristics of the place.
For example, in the 20th century the UK experienced mass international migrations from India, Pakistan and other Commonwealth countries. This has created multi-ethnic communities in many places, where there is a greater mix of languages spoken, religions practised and food eaten.
How have the flows of money, investment and ideas affected the cultural characteristics of a place?
New cultural ideas introduced to places can change the characteristics of the place.
For example, fast food companies from the USA such as KFC, McDonalds and Pizza Hut opened new restaurants in China in the 1980s and 1990s and have grown rapidly since.It is thought that eating habits have changed in China as a result, with increasing numbers of people favouring western-style fast food over traditional Chinese food.
Economic characteristics
The economic characteristics of places are to do with work and money, e.g. income, employment rates and the types of job available.
How have flows of people affected the economic characteristics of a place?
People visiting places can change the economic characteristics of those places.
For example, St Ives in Cornwall used to be a fishing settlements, but is now a popular tourist destination. The flow of tourism (combined with a decline in the fishing industry) have altered the types of jobs available in the area to service-based jobs in hospitality, shops and restaurants.
How have flows of resources affected the economic characteristics of a place?
The outward flow of local products or natural resources from a place can have a large impact on local economies. Products that may once have been consumed locally or regionally can now be sold to global markets.
For example, the Scottish whisky industry has grown to be one of the largest industries in Scotland due to international exports. This has brought employment and money to a wide range of places across Scotland, including remote island communities where many distilleries are located.
How have flows of money and ideas affected the economic characteristics of a place?
The flow of money and ideas can have positive and negative impacts on the economic characteristics of places.
For example, the reduced investment and competition from global markets has led to the decline of some primary industries in the UK (deindustrialisation), which has damaged the economies of many places. For example, thousands of jobs were lost in South Wales when many coal mines were closed between the 1950s and 1980s. Inward flows of investment can have positive effects though, e.g. investment in the finance industries in the City of London has created many high value service sector jobs and made it a wealthy place.
