Changing Places Flashcards
Location
Where a place is on a map
Locale
What happens there or has particular things associated with it
We behave a particular way in these places according to social rules
Sense of place
The subjective and emotional attachment to a place, developed through experience
Three approaches to place
Descriptive - the idea that the world is a set of places and each one can be studied and is distinct
Social constructionist - sees place as a product of a particular set of social processes occurring at a particular time period
Phenomenological approach - interested in personal individual experiences
Insider perspective
Have a stronger relationship with the places they are familiar with
This is why people living within a place are more likely to oppose developments within their hometowns - not in my backyard
Outsider perspective
Sense of place is more vague and abstract
Often look to discover more about the area, however, can feel out of place
4 categories of place
Near + far (geographical and emotional distance)
Experienced - somewhere that a person has spent time in
Media - only seen in TV/film and can be put across by the media (e.g. Happy Valley does not give accurate representation of Hebden Bridge)
Time-space convergence
The impression that distances between 2 locations have decreased due to developments in transport and communication
Birmingham and Peaky Blinders - media place
Put across as being dirty, industrial city with lots of crime, lack of security and economic inequality
People may relate to it through historical or familial links and community spirit between poorer demographics
In reality, still a lot of industry in Birmingham but overall better quality of life than represented
Endogenous factors
Characteristics which have originated internally
May include aspects of the site or land on which the place is built, such as height, relief, drainage, soil type, geology, the availability of resources, and aspect
Historically the character of place was heavily affected by endogenous factors e.g. mining or coastal towns
Exogenous factors
Characteristics which have originated externally
May include links to or influences from other places, distances from / routeways to other / accessibility of the place.
Flows of income, people, investment
Original character of many has changed because of the exogenous influences that have occurred over time
How is globalisation affecting the character of places
Some argue globalisation has made sense less important as it is eroding local cultures and producing identical or homogenised places
Clone town settlements where the high street is dominated by chain stores
Advantages of clone towns
May be cheaper than local stores
Bring investment into the area
More likely to survive → job security
Buildings could be left derelict if not for chains
Disadvantages of clone towns
Reduces identity of an area
Forces local shops out of business (Totnes town petitioned to keep Costa Coffee from opening on the high street)
Profit going out of the area
Conflict in places
May arise when people resist changes focused on their place
e.g.
The redevelopment of areas of East London for the 2012 Olympic Games was not welcomed by everybody
Proposed housing estates, landfill sites, wind farms and bypasses can all create tensions
Government policies in changing places
Regeneration schemes - development of infrastructure - housing, leisure opportunities, business opportunities - attracts business
Financial incentives and enterprise zones - attracts businesses, maybe MNC’s which bring investment into the area - improved infrastructure. Increase in tertiary sector jobs and positive multiplier effect
Multinational corporations in changing places
Closure of factories and movement of production (e.g. Honda closed Swindon factory to move to Japan in 2019) - loss of job opportunities - ex factory workers may be underqualified for other jobs. May reduce money in the area, causing dereliction
Decision to locate shops in towns/cities - may cause conflict within the area. May threaten independent stores who can’t compete with MNC prices
International/global institutions - changing places
In 2020, the World Bank was running 24 development projects in Haiti - reconstruction and redevelopment following earthquakes
Sustainable development goals (UN) - could improve environmental quality of urban areas
Shifting flows of people - tourism
Impacts of economic characteristics
Impact on social inequality
Place example
Tourism sector jobs are seasonal and low paying
Increase house prices
Investment in property - community spirit
Transport networks
Move away from primary sector
Inequality - poorer people living in an area but well-off people going on holiday
e.g.
British seaside towns - Scarborough
Magaluf
Shifting flows of people - migration
Impacts of economic characteristics
Impact on social inequality
Place example
Increase in labour supply
Increase in tax → investment
Wage gap may lead to conflict between migrants and locals
Leeds - Alwoodley or Moortown
Brick Lane
Shifting flows of resources - natural resources
Impacts of economic characteristics
Impact on social inequality
Place example
Brings money into local economy
Improved transport links
Ability to trade
Employment opportunities
Wealth may not be evenly distributed
Finite resources
Resource dependency
Oil providing countries - UAE
Shifting flows of resources - farming
Impacts of economic characteristics
Impact on social inequality
Place example
Low paid employment in primary sector
Reduction in available taxes (due to low income industry)
Competition between farmers can lead to conflict
Low wages can lead to poorer QoL
Kenya
Shifting flows of money and investment - deindustrialisation
Impacts of economic characteristics
Impact on social inequality
Place example
People are underqualified for new tertiary jobs
Job losses
Lead to poverty
London 1970s
Shifting flows of money and investment - industrialisation
Impacts of economic characteristics
Impact on social inequality
Place example
Employment opportunities
Increased taxes
Increased investment
Improves income and QoL
London 1890s
Mumbai
Shifting flows of money and investment - regeneration
Impacts of economic characteristics
Impact on social inequality
Place example
Employment opportunities
Increased taxes and investment
Improves income and QoL
London 1990s
Shifting flows of ideas - westernisation
Impacts of economic characteristics
Impact on social inequality
Place example
Employment opportunities in tertiary sector
Increased taxes and investment
Homogenisation of culture
Cultural dilution
Divisions in terms of wealth and feeling of worth
Mumbai
Shifting flows of ideas - increase reliance on technology
Impacts of economic characteristics
Impact on social inequality
Place example
Increased wealth due to ease of financial transactions
Easier trade
More taxes required for payment for technology
Employment opportunities
Employment but could be
Unemployment due to AI
Social division in terms of age gap
Mumbai
London
Silicon Valley
Meaning
Relates to the individual or collective perceptions of place
Representation
Relates to how a place is portrayed or seen in society
Influences on the perception of place
Media
Personal experience
Word of mouth
Education
Advertisements
Historical + political relationships
Historical events
Perceptions of international places tend to be influenced more by the media than personal experiences
Governments are keen to attract investment and want a positive place perception
External agencies are being employed at a local scale to promote place
Place marketing
Government strategy
May be employed by national and local governments
Includes ad campaigns, social media, websites, newsletters, logos
e.g.
Weston super-mare
Ad campaigns, official website, logo
Rebranding
Government strategy
Used to discard negative perceptions of a place
Aim to make somewhere desirable for living and visit
e.g.
Amsterdam
Threatened by competition from other cities, socio-economic decline and liberal reputation
‘I Amsterdam’ sign photographed 8000 times per day
Re-imaging
Linked to rebranding, reimaging seeks to discard negative perceptions of a place and generate a new, positive set of ideas, feelings, and attitudes
e.g.
Liverpool
Industrial heritage - turning negative imagery to celebrating culture
Tate Liverpool
Corporate bodies
An organisation that is identified by a particular name e.g. Visit Britain
Many will have an interest in place but some will want to manipulate perceptions of place
Use promotional materials such as brochures, videos, websites, ads
Community and local groups
May take an active role in managing + improving the perception of their place to attract investment and improve opportunities within the area
Regeneration and rebranding strategies often involved local people who have insider experience
Lack of community involvement in UDCs
UDCs were top-down organisations - community projects were not taken into account and so key stakeholders had no say in the development
Single regeneration budget - 1994
Funding was granted to organisations who could demonstrate that they had a significant level of public involvement
Benefits of community involvement
Can be seen as positive as community players can identify regeneration priorities and help manage potential conflicts
Residents’ initiative and engagement mean that projects can have a longer life as the organisational capacity will remain and grow
Can empower specific groups in communities suffering from deprivation or social exclusion
Barriers to community involvement
Power balance - lack of balance between players who bring financial resources and those who don’t
Capacity building - training to be able to participate in meetings. Address civic opportunity gap where groups in society feel isolated from community projects
Ring-fenced funding - needs to be money allocated specifically for the purpose of community involvement
Time - must be time available to access training there is a perception that community engagement slows the process down
Representation of key groups - some community groups may have more time to commit to groups (e.g. retirees) which may lead to overrepresentation
Sources of representation - maps
Locate but also impact how we think or feel about a place
Counter-mapping describes a bottom up process where people produce their own maps, informed by their own knowledge + understanding of a place
Sources of representation - interviews
Can generate detailed insights about a person’s sense of place or perception - first hand
Interviewer bias - the interview may affect responses through leading questions
People like to present themselves in a favourable light
Sources of representation - art
Most famously seen in 18th and 19th century landscape painting - may reflect a romantic vision
Art may be more likely to be misinterpreted
Can reflect artist’s sense of place
Sources of representation - TV and film
Crime dramas in cities but not all crime occurs in cities
Same place can be represented differently by different shows
Sources of representation - music
Types of music can be associated with geographical areas - reggae
Song lyrics may portray particular place - Empire State of Mind, Alicia Keys
Sources of representation - textual sources
May evoke a sense of place with the reader some places become strongly associated with a particular author
e.g. Bronte country
Sources of representation - photographs
Can easily be photoshopped
Reality may be affected by weather, time or season
Photos can be selective in what they show
Sources of representation - poetry
Famous poets associated with particular places
- William Wordsworth
Allows reader to imagine what it is like to be in that place
Sources of representation - statistics
Reveals basic information about places
UK census collected every 10 years by ONS
Can be selectively chosen
Doesn’t tell us about human experience
Sources of representation - graffiti
Associated with youth culture
Banksy believes its important to give a voice to people
Increasingly seen in mainstream art galleries
Being used as street art in regeneration of places
How can place be represented
Formal - maps
Informal - songs, film
Qualitative - non-numerical + subjective - interviews, photographs
Quantitative - quantifiable and verified - census data
