5.1 What's in a place? Flashcards
5.1 What’s in a place?
Key idea ➡ Places are defined by a combination of characteristics which change over time.
Google Earth - What characteristics make up the identity of a place?
Using Google Earth to view the place where you live allows different characteristics of that place to be recognised. The view from space identifies the outlines of the land areas. It is then possible to zoom closer and closer in and as this happens more and more characteristics such as the settlement pattern, transport routes and eventually individual buildings become successively visible.
Layers of information on Google Earth - What characteristics make up the identity of a place?
Adding various layers to the image gives more information about the places shown on the Google Earth image.
Layers of information on OS Maps - What characteristics make up the identity of a place?
Maps, such as those produced by the Ordnance Survey (OS), for example at the scales of 1:50,000 and 1:25,000, are also made up of layers of information (15.1).
A number of characteristics interact to make the identity of a place at a local scale. These include
-Physical geography, e.g. altitude, slope angle, aspect, drainage, geology.
-Demography, e.g. number of inhabitants, their ages, gender and ethnicity.
-Socio-economic, e.g. employment, income and family status, education.
-Cultural, e.g. religion, local traditions, local clubs and societies.
-Political, e.g. local, regional and national government, such as resident associations.
-Built environment, e.g. age and style of buildings including building materials, density of housing local societies
Two localities and their characteristicd
Characteristics of the localities below include natural, past, present and demographic characteristics:
-Lympstone in Devon
-Toxteth in Liverpool
Lympstone, East Devon and Toxteth, Liverpool description
-Lympstone is a small settlement on the east bank of the River Exe estuary, approximately 15 km south of Exeter.
-Toxteth is part of inner Liverpool, about 1.5 km south of the city centre.
Lympstone in Devon - Natural characteristics
Lympstone occupies a small valley cut by Wotton Brook through the red breccia cliffs which mark the edge of the Exe estuary. Extensive tidal mudflats extend out into the estuary which is about 1.5 km wide at Lympstone. A small beach of pebbles and gravel runs along the foot of the cliff.
Toxteth in Liverpool - Natural characteristics
Toxteth occupies undulating land rising up from the banks of the River Mersey. A stream flows from the northeast, dividing into two before discharging the river. The Mersey is fast flowing past Toxteth as its channel narrows before passing into Liverpool Bay, so there is little foreshore at Toxteth.
Lympstone in Devon (Before 19th Century) - Past characteristics
-Lympstone was established by the Saxons having forced out the original Celtic Inhabitants.
-Area was transferred to a succession of French families during the Norman conquest (such as de Traceys and the de Courtlands).
-In the 13th Century, Lympstone was one of a number of small ports operating under the administration of Essex with coastal and cross-Channel trading links.
Lympstone in Devon (19th Century) - Past characteristics
-Into the 19th Century, Lympstone thrived with shipbuilding.
-In the 1840s, considerable numbers of wealthy families from Exeter and East Devon enjoyed the novelty of being ‘by the sea’. Lympstone remained a small village.
-In 1861, the advent of railway improved Lympstone’s connectivity both regionally and nationally. Time-space compression allowed the shellfish industry to access to a wider market and local residents too could travel more easily to Exeter, the main regional centre.
Lympstone in Devon (20th Century) - Past characteristics
-Into the 20th Century, Lympstone underwent further change when it became the a dormitory settlement for Exeter. However, it does retain a strong sense of community.
Toxteth in Liverpool (Before 18th Century) - Past characteristics
-The Saxons established a settlement in Toxteth with the Domesday survey (1086) recording it as one of a handful of coastal villages along the banks of Mersey.
-In the early thirteenth century King John made it part of a large royal hunting forest.
-It remained a fenced-off forest for around 300 years.
-Towards the end of the sixteenth century the area’s status changed and it opened up for farming.
-Small-scale industry was a growing characteristic during the seventeenth century, making use of water power from the dammed stream.
Toxteth in Liverpool (18th Century) - Past characteristics
-Copper works were established in 1772 and later a ceramics factory.
-Industries such as flour milling and brewing developed to serve a rapidly growing population.
-Shipping industry and residential development emerged.
-More on Greenfield site, housing and industrial development on Page 142.
Toxteth in Liverpool (19th Century) - Past characteristics
-The area behind the large villas had been used for very cheap and poorly constructed housing.
-Epidemics such as typhoid and cholera frequently erupted in the unhygienic and insanitary surroundings.
-The middle class relocated to Greenfield sites on the edge of the built area as disposable incomes increased.
Toxteth in Liverpool (20th Century) - Past characteristics
-In the 150 years following the previous epochs, Toxteth changed from a small rural community to an inner city suburb in a large metropolitan area (engulfed by the urban centre of Liverpool).
-Original rural features such as fields and hedgerows were replaced by the built environment with just the rise and fall of the ground evident in the streets.
-Toxteth’s growth was because of increasing connections both nationally and internationally as goods passing through the docks were traded all over the country and beyond the UK.
Time-space compression
Through processes such as globalisation time is accelerated and the significance of space is reduced.
Globalisation
The increasing integration of economies and societies and breaking down of traditional barriers around the world allowing movement of goods, capital, people and information.
Lympstone, East Devon and Toxteth, Liverpool - Present characteristics compared
Just was a diamond has several facets or faces, so do places. Individually they indicate something about the place and when put together they give a comprehensive place profile.
Lympstone, East Devon and Toxteth, Liverpool - The demographic face of a local place comparison
The demographic profiles of the communities living in Lympstone and Toxteth are quite different. Lympstone has a top-heavy age structure whereas Toxteth has fewer elderly residents, with the majority of its residents aged between 16 and 64.
It has significantly fewer children than Lympstone. The ethnic profile of the two places helps us to understand how migrations have altered each place.
Pages 143-146.
Lympstone, East Devon and Toxteth, Liverpool Facts and Statistics
Pages 141-146.
Lympstone, East Devon and Toxteth, Liverpool - The socio-economic profile of a local place comparison
The socio-economic profiles of Lympstone and Toxteth are very different. Although the census does not ask direct questions about income but records data relating to factors such as housing tenure, car ownership and education which indicate relative wealth and poverty. A household’s economic status has a direct effect on social factors such as health.
Lympstone, East Devon and Toxteth, Liverpool - Other characteristics
Page 144-147.
