4A.2 Places have changed their function and characteristics over time. Flashcards
Functional changes -
Considers retail and industrial change for example Longbridge where it used to be dominated by factories but now has experienced deindustrialisation and is now a shopping area.
Other examples may be retail and commercial use where retail has transformed itself in the past decade with online shopping. May show different characteristics for its community and surroundings, for example regeneration in some areas may vary in rural and urban areas for example in rural areas it may rely heavily on post offices, village shops and pubs in order to improve its functions and community whereas in cities it may focus on small industries and manufacturing.
Demographic changes - Gentrification
For example gentrification where affluent people move into a location and planners may use their money to upgrade characteristics and become of a higher social status. For example Ladywood in Birmingham where between 2014 and 2019 property prices increased by 25%.
Demographic changes - ethnic composition (multicultarism)
Where people from different regions or countries live within close proximity and people can then become segregated from each other. E.G Birmingham where 53% of the population is White British, social stratification occurs.
Demographic change - Age structure (brain drain)
Where all young people move away to due to it lacking in primary and secondary industries and offering potential seasonal jobs, creates higher house prices from tourism for example Bournemouth and Llandudno.
There are reasons for changes physically -
Coastal erosion - in Norfolk 250m of land has been lost in the last 250 years. Less land less area to utilise and change.
Reasons for changes in a place may be accessibility and connectedness -
For example improved railway and motorways making places more easy to access and accessible for example HS2.
Changes of places can be measured from 4 distinct factors -
Land-use changes
Employment trends
Demographic changes
Level of deprivation
These changes can be measured quantitatively through indicators another example is TV programmes where channels like mitigation street which is based in Southampton can be used to measure the flavour of an area and assess land-use changes and its levels of deprivation.
Another is the IMD (the Index of multiple deprivation) and is used by the central government to target regeneration AID which allocates resources to target places and people (with low GCSE’S) and target hotspots of crimes thereofore allowing the measurement of a place to be assessed and observe characteristics of what needs to be improved.