Changing places Flashcards
Locale
The place where certain events and activites are associated with
Location
‘Where’ a place is, the coordinates on a map
Sense of place
The subjective and emotional attachment people connect to a place, people can develop this connection through experience and knowledge of the area.
Place
A location with meaning
- Be meaningful on a personal level
- Be meaningful at a social or cultural level shared by group of people
Global sense of place
The idea that there are connections and collections of social and cultural dynamics all over the world which weave together differently
Doreen Masssey view on global sense of place
She wrote about how places are not static but are dynamic and can be identified multiple times, not having boundaries. She argued that the character of a place can only be seen and understood by linking that place to places beyond it.
Agents of change
Manipulations of the perceptions of places
- National and local government
- Corporate bodies
- Tourist organisations
- Community groupss
External agenciess
- Governments
Placing strategies to manage perceptions in order to attract people and investment. This improves the economy and infrasturcture.
(minimal consultation with public)
What is place marketing?
Companies employed by the government to improve areas
- Western Super Mare which created advertising campaigns, logos, websites and new attractions (Winter Wonderland)
Re branding
Policy manipulating place identity
- A wholesale change to a place’s built environment and reputation
Re imaging
Policy manipulating place identity
- Separating idea of a place from any bad imagess to new, positive ones
Regeneration
Policy manipulating place identity
- Building new developments in housing and infrastructure
Tourist agencies
Making a place seem desirable and ideal for tourists to visit with activities for tourism
- Pembrokeshire 2012, the coasts National Park placed vintage- inspired designs of coast around country to increase visitors
Placelessness
A landscape is not unique or special because it does not have a specific locale.
- Clone towns known as areas with dominace of chain shops, making them identical to most areas
Genius loci
The spirit of a place, the unique character or atmosphere of it based on what it is made up of
(media places lack this)
Near places
Areas close to a person, subjective to each. Can be a geographical sense but also having a close connection a person’s heart, an idea of comfortability.
Far places
Areas distant to a person, subjective to each.
Geographically distant but also different and inexperienced with little emotional attachment.
Can be relatively close if not culturally, socially or economically similar to a person’s life.
Experienced places
Areas which someone has spent time in and created a certain connection to it, the longer we experience a place the stronger sense of place developed
Media places
Areas someone has not visited but learned about through the media representation, the reality of it may be different to what is shown online, so sense of place only developed subconsciously.
- Idolised idea of rural areas being wealthy and communal yet include homelessness, underemployment, little affordable housing.
Media representations of a place
- Photographs
Visual image of a place portraying an idealised image
- Photoshop can allow selective viewing on certain aspects of a photo to make it seem more appealing and attractive
- Weather, time and season are all ways photos can be different to reality
Toshogu, Japan photographed as isolated and quiet not showing it at it’s busiest
Media representations of a place
-Textual sources
Certain sources may strongly associate a place to their work promoting a place positvely or negatively.
A negative association can cause ‘place prejudice’ as sense of place is strongly evoked by texts
- Liverpool seriously suffered by the British Press. Gangs, unemployment and drugs characterised ‘scouse’ depictions, however in 2008 city was awarded European Capital of culture reflecting its more architectural, musical and sporting heritage
Media representations of a place
- Film
Uses places as a visual backdrop for scenes in films.
Associates certain areas with different types of stories. False representations of a place, different to reality.
- Tv show ‘Game Of Thrones’ become synonymous to Northern Ireland with 350,000 tourists annually visiting for show creating positive representation
Media representations of a place
- Art
Represents landscapes and countryside. Romanticses a place ignoring its flaws, can be critical.
- Constable now known for the their landscape of Suffolk referred to as ‘Constable country’
Media representations of a place
- Grafitti
Writing or drawing illictly in a public space, traditionally linked to youth culture, crime and deprivation. Seen as vandalism, claiming ownership of a place.
- Bansky argues the importance of grafitti giving voice to those not heard in society.
Endogenous factors
Internal characteristics and factors of a place, which are local.
-location, topography, physical geography, infrastructure, demographics, built environment, land use, economy
Exogenous factors
External factors of a place and it’s relationship to other places, providing linkages.
-people, resources, ideas, investment
Distant place
Dharavi, Mumbai
Local place
Birmingham, England
Location of Dharavi
The 2nd largest slum within the city of Mumbai
An estimated population between 700,000 and 1 million people.
A residential area in Maharashtra, India
Over 60,000 structures built in Dharavi,
An estimated 1 million people working there
The economic output of Dharavi is between $600 million to $1 billion each year.
People’s lived experience of Dharavi
Many people hold quite stereotypical views of Dharavi, tourists or people living elsewhere typically view Dharavi as poverty- stricken and a place of destitution
Those living there may see it as home and better than most. As the slum has been improved and acknowledged more, peoples experience has changed as the quality of life has improved due to the development of infrastructure and service.
People’s lived experience of Dharavi
- ‘Living space’ by Imitaz Dharker
‘Beams balance crookedly on supports’
‘The whole structure leans dangerously’
‘Into this rough frame, someone has squeezed a living space’
People’s lived experience of Dharavi
- Jeffrey Gillete
Jeffrey Gillete’s artistry work is very powerful, it links the slums synonymously with Disneyland by illustrating the slums associated to characters such as ‘Mickey the Mouse’ emulating the children suffering instead of their joy which would be in the ‘happiest place on earth’.
Dharavi changing demographic and cultural characteristics
- Population changes
Over time it is suggested that Dharavi has grew from 300,000 to 1 million in 2024, with a population density of 869,565 people per square mile
- densely populated
Dharavi changing demographic and cultural characteristics
- Economy
In relation to the other countries of the world, India has the 5th largest economy with a GDP of 3.176 trillion USD as of 2021. The country recently surpassed the UK showing it to be growing in terms of economic significance.
However, the slum itself has an informal urban economy with 250,000 employed workers
Dharavi changing demographic and cultural characteristics
- Education
Dharavi has a literacy rate of 69% (highest in India) with 80% of children having access to proper education, it is known for being the birthplace of great innovation and entrepreneurship. The slum has 60 mainstream schools, 13 secondary schools and 8 private schools teaching in Hindi or English.
Dharavi changing demographic and cultural characteristics
- Employment
- hub for small-scale industries (unorganised sectors such as leather industry, waste recycling industry, etc)
- exports goods across the globe with an estimated annual turnover of around $ 1 billion.
- approximately 5,000 business entities with 15,000 in house single room factories for production.
- the HBS study calls Dharavi an ‘entrepreneurial slum despite the illegal status of most of its settlements’ as Dharavi’s informal businesses produce up to $600 million worth of goods.
- 60% of Mumbai’s segregated waste comes to Dharavi for processing with 30,000 rag pickers scavengers who find and sort recyclable scraps from the city’s garbage dumps.
- the average wage in Dharavi is $10 a month yet still 40% earn less than this. As well as this, the workers have poor labour conditions with some people working up to 10 hours without any breaks.
Dharavi changing demographic and cultural characteristics
- Healthcare
- dense overpopulation of the slum means keeping control of healthcare ensuring everyone is cared for can be very difficult.
- the medical centre, Sion Hospital, opened in 1947 and has had to deal with unprecedented and unexpected growth and a range of health issues that accompany the extremely poor living conditions of local residents with the building growing from a 50-bed facility in its infancy in the 1950s to a 1,400-bed facility more recently.
- dr Armida Fernandez worked at this hospital for 25 years, she stated she saw more than ‘3,000 people a day’ demonstrating the extreme deficit of healthcare services available.
Location of Birmingham
Birmingham is a city located in the West Midlands of the United Kingdom. It is the central city in England and the second largest city in Britain making it of social, financial and cultural significance. It borders Dudley on the west and Solihull on the east as well as other places such as Wolverhampton.
Importance of Birmingham
Birmingham is one of England’s principal industrial and commercial areas acting as an administrative, recreational, and cultural centre for Britain, it has a network of many social and economic links which increase its importance and attraction. London and Manchester are both approximately two hours away by train which allows the major cities in England to be easily integrated and connected, boosting economic growth. Birmingham also has many manufacturing factories such as Jaguar Land Rover located here associating business around the world
Birmingham local place
- Big City Plan
The Big City plan was created in 2010, it set several objectives for Birmingham in places like Snow hill, Perry barr and Smithfield. It included the iconic £188m regeneration of the biggest public library in Europe, the Library of Birmingham. In addition the £12m redevelopment of the new urban Eastside City Park will boost the residents’ quality of life, attracting more individuals to the area
Birmingham local place
- Commonwealth games
The commonwealth games in Birmingham 2022 were a huge support for its overall look. Over £700m was spent on schemes to shape Birmingham into the hosting city. This massively boosted the city’s financial state due to tourism.
People’s lived experience of Birmingham
- Media
The BBC production ‘Peaky Blinders’ first aired in 2013 about the gang in Birmingham, this caused cultural, social and economic impacts on the outlook of this city. Due to its relation to the city, a record 131 million people visited the West Midlands in 2018, which the West Midlands Growth Company has partly attributed to the “Peaky effect”. This demonstrates the positive experience many Brummies lived due to the show’s impact.
People’s lived experience of Birmingham
- Deprivation
Since the 2000’s deprivation and unemployment has increased massively, Birmingham is the 7th most deprived local authority out of England׳s 317 authorities. From this, we can infer that a lot of Birmingham residents live destitute and underprivileged. Graffiti and urban sprawl are both typical signs of deprivation within a city, Birmingham is known for its wall art around areas in Digbeth- this may illustrate the disadvantaged life many citizens in the city encounter.
Birmingham’s changing demographic and cultural characteristics
- Population changes
During 2021, the population of Birmingham was estimated at 1,144,900 (6.7% increase from 2011 census data and 9.8% increase from 2001 census data)
Birmingham’s changing demographic and cultural characteristics
- Employment
The employment rate in Birmingham has grown over the years and is quite high compared to stereotypical views of vacancies within the city.
- At the end of June 2023, from people aged 16 to 64 years living in Birmingham, 67.3% were employed. It is the second best city outside of London for job opportunities, due to its strong presence of sectors. As well as this, the standard for workers and labour is greatly thought about in Birmingham, minimum wage and the Employment Rights Act 1996 all contribute to protect workers from harm on health and safety grounds.
People’s lived experience of Birmingham
- Environment
- new pedestrianised squares / plazas included with current developments e.g. redesign of Centenary Square; open space within Bullring development. New city centre park within the Eastside development
- Grand Central: removal old, dark, airy, spacious new concourse for the station with improved access for passengers.
People’s lived experience of Birmingham
- Education
Compared to other cities in the UK, Birmingham is failing at its education system. 41% of young people in Birmingham failed to achieve good GCSEs in Maths and English in 2018, it is a city in the top 10% of places in need for schooling in England. However the universities located here are quite good, Birmingham and Aston university are both ranked in the top 50 universities in the UK.
People’s lived experience of Birmingham
- Healthcare
With the National Health Service, NHS, Birmingham has good healthcare. Due to education and accessibility for knowledge around medicine and doctoring in the UK there are well qualified doctors and nurses in Birmingham to provide support and care for those in need of care in the city. However because of how densely populated Birmingham is, having quick and easy access to seeing these people can be difficult as the waiting times can go up to 24 hours in AnE.
