Changing Places Flashcards
What is a place?
A place is a key term used in geography, it is an area that has an emotional meaning and attachment with people while still having a location on a map and human or physical characteristsics.
What are the three aspects of a place?
location- physical point of where a place is on a map with latitude and longitude coordinates.
Locale- settings where everyday life activities or events happen ie. an office, a park or a home. These settings influence social interactions and cultures of inhabitants.
Sense of Place- subjective, emotional attachment to a place which gives it meaning and is developed through experience.
What are the three approaches to describe a place?
descriptive- idea that the world is a group of places with each being studied and is distinct
Social Constructionist- The idea that a place is a product of a set of social processes occuring at a particular time- historical or modern
Phenomenological- how a person experiences a place and their relationship with it
Talk about the importance of Place.
As a newborn baby, the first environment we form an attachment to is a parent and as we grow older, we begin to notice the absence of our primary carer. Yi-Fu Tuan described the way that our understanding of the environment and our attachment to it expands with age which is parallel with our physical ability to explore. In summary: The attachment we have for a place is influenced by the depth of our knowledge and understanding of it.
However, research also shows that our attachment to a place is influenced by the quality or intensity of experience we have there. So the more enjoyable an experience, the greater degree to which we feel safe in a place and the more attached we feel to it. It becomes home
Talk about Identity
Our sense of place can be so strong it features as part of our identity.
Localism- An affection for or emotional ownership of a small-scale place.
nimbyism- when people are relucant to have their local area affected.
Regionalism- Loyalty to a distinct region with a population which share similarities that unify them ie. dialect
Nationalism- loyalty and devotion to a nation which creates a sense of national conciousness. Unifiers include languages and flags
These can be affected by:
- nationality
- politics
- Religion
- Ethnicity
Give some examples of Identity.
Cornwall- Some people living in Cornwall believe that cornwall has as much right to self rule as other embers of the UK alike Scotland. They believe they have such a distinct language, heritage and history making them indentify independantly
Wales- Welsh identity has seen an increase following a rise in the Welsh language and culture unifying people
Give an example of belonging
London- As globalisation and Migration increase, London has become more ethically and culturally diverse makin git one of the most diverse cityies in the world. This increases people sense of belonging to a place with many clusters of religions and ethnicities with specially suited environments.
Talk about wellbeing.
Well-Being is the measurment of how happy one feels in a particular place. There are 5 classifications: physical, psychological, social, economic and environmental.
Main categories include: Comfort and image, uses and activities, sociability and access and linkages.
The importance of a place having these categories may differ with what a person wants, for example a child may see uses and activities as being important while someone older may want more comfort.
Talk about insider and outsider perspectives.
‘To be inside a place is to belong to it and identify with it, and the more profoundly inside you are, the stronger your sense of identity with the place’- RELPH
Insider- Someone with a strong sense of belonging to a place and feels at home, safe and welcomed within a community
Outsider- Someone who doesnt feel welcomed in that place and feels excluded from the society
Peoples activities may be seen as being ‘in place’ or ‘out of place’. Tim- Places have links with certain people and activities and when the links are broken or something is done differently from the insiders, it is ‘out of place’- ie. finishing food in Japan
Talk about near and far places.
Near Places- those which are close to us either physically with its geography or level of emotional connection
Far Places- those which are far to us ‘
Geographically near places may not evoke feelings or familiarality whereas far places may not seem strange or different. In this instance, geographically near places can be emotionally far and vice versa.
Talk about experienced and media places.
Experienced Places- Places that a person has spent time in and develop own opinions about and develop their own emotional attachment to.
Media Place- A place you may know about but haven’t experienced it first hand, your experience and perception is shaped by other peoples opinions and the media.
The reality of a place can be far different to that put accross by the media. For example, the UK countryside has been stereotyped as involving a happy, healthy, close-knit community percieved through media like ‘country life’. However, it doesnt outline problems like unemployment and lack of transport. In contrast, city lives are often sterotyped in a negative way with economic and social deprivation, homelessness and crime, however, many cities have been involved in successful regeneration making city life way more attractive.
What are the two types of factor influencing the character of places.
Endogenous Factors- Characteristics that originate from within a place itself and is strongly linked to the natural environment but is more often a combination of natural and cultural factors. Including: location, geographical features and social and economic factors.
Exogenous Factors- The relationship of one place with another and the external factors like socio-economic status and flows of people.
What are the characters of place?
Physical Geography- Such as relief, altitude, soil/rock type
Demography- Population size, gender, sex etc.
Location- Urban or Rural, roads etc.
The Built Environment-Land use, type of housing
Political Factors- Role and strength of councils
Mobility of the population- work or leisure
Cultural Factors- Heritage, religion and language
Socio-economic factors- employment, amenities, income, health.
What are agents of change and give examples.
Agents of Change- Person or persons who impact on a place through living, working, volunteering or just trying to improve that place.
Government- Regeneration schemes and financial incentives can attract businesses to places
TNC’s- Generate jobs or lose jobs and generates tourism and income
Global Institutions- Millennium development goals leads to success etc.
