Changing places Flashcards
what does meaning relate to?
-individual or collective perceptions of place
what is meant by perception of place?
-how place is viewed or regarded by people / the meaning attributed to a place, which can be influenced by media representation and/or personal experience
what is meant by representation of place?
-how individuals, or organisations such as businesses or councils, portray places they know about to others
what is meant by place?
-a location which has different meanings to various people, e.g. individuals or societies
-place refers to the web of characteristics, flows and perceptions that are all attached to a specific location
what are the three aspects of place?
-location
-locale
-sense of place
what is meant by location?
-the position of a particular point on the surface of earth, i.e. where a place is
what is meant by locale?
-the place where something happens or is set, or that has particular events / everyday activities associated with it, e.g. school, theatre, shops etc.
-a locale structures social interactions, e.g. people are likely to be sociable in a theatre but will speak more quietly in a library to conform with social stereotypes
what is meant by sense of place?
-the subjective and emotional attachment people have to a place which develops through experience and knowledge of a particular area, and gives it meaning
how can the aspects of a place change over time?
-the physical characteristics ( e.g. the topography or physical features ) can change over long time scales e.g. as rivers migrate, or short time scales e.g. when a volcano erupts and alters the landscape
-the human characteristics ( e.g. who lives there, the land use or the built environment ) can change over whole lifetimes e.g. as new people are born in a place and others die, or shorter time scales e.g. as people migrate in and out of a place
-the flows in and out of a place change, e.g. flows of money could change when a transnational corporation ( TNC ) invests in a new factory or decides to close an existing one
-the sense of place individuals or groups have may change, e.g. the places a person played in as a child will not have the same meanings to that person when they return there as an adult
what are the theoretical approaches to place?
-descriptive = the world is a set of places and each place can be studied and is distinct
-social constructionist = place is a product of a particular set of social processes occurring at a certain time, and knowledge is constructed through interactions
-phenomenological = interested in how an individual person experiences place, recognising a highly personal relationship between place and person
what did the cultural geographer Jon Anderson say about sense of place?
-places are defined and given meaning by the traces ( marks, residues or remnants left in place by cultural life ) that exist within them
-material traces = physical additions to the environment such as buildings, signs and statues
-non-material traces = events, performances or emotions which occur in that place
-you can look behind the traces to try and understand their meanings and the aims of the trace-makers who constructed them ( e.g. to subvert meaning )
-e.g. the statue of Admiral Lord Nelson in Trafalgar Square, London which commemorates his naval victory in 1805, and inspires pride and patriotism in the country
how is place important in human life and experience?
-people define themselves through a sense of place and by living in places and carrying out everyday practices there, developing a person-place relationship
-the promotion of place is crucial in the marketing of holiday destinations
-food items are increasingly marketed in terms of the place from which they came
-the popularity of particular events may be linked to the reputation of the place at which they happen
-people may buy into or consume place, e.g. those who like the countryside tend to holiday in rural locations, enjoy books and television programmes about these areas, and spend money on walking gear and maps
what are the three aspects that place has an impact on?
-identity
-belonging
-well-being
what is meant by placemaking?
-the deliberate shaping of an environment to facilitate social interaction and improve a community’s quality of life
what is meant by identity?
-the sense of who a person is
-can be evident at a number of scales i.e. local, regional and national
what is localism?
-an affection for or emotional ownership of a particular place
-e.g. nimbyism ( not in my backyard ) which occurs when people are reluctant to have their local area affected by development
what is regionalism?
-consciousness of and loyalty to a distinct region with a population that shares similarities
-e.g. the individuals from a region sharing an accent
what is nationalism?
-loyalty and devotion to a nation ( patriotism ) which creates a sense of national consciousness
-e.g. the individuals of a nation sharing a language, religion or love for that nation
what scale do people usually identify more with and why?
-localism ( their local place or community ) because they have greater knowledge of the area and people
-this has led to the desire for more regional government, e.g. in Cornwall as the Mebyon Kernow party believes that the county, with its own distinct identity, language and heritage, has the same right to self-rule as other parts of the UK such as Scotland and Wales which have already achieved a degree of devolution ( the transfer of powers and funding from national to local government )
what is meant by belonging?
-a feeling of comfort and being an insider / part of the community in a place
-the extent to which one might feel a sense of belonging to a place can be influenced by a number of factors e.g. age, gender, sexuality, socio-economic status, religion and level of education
what is meant by well-being?
-the state of being comfortable, happy or healthy
what is the difference between topophilia and topophobia?
-topophilia = the love of a place
-topophobia = the dislike of a place
what did the economic and social geographer Doreen Massey say about sense of place?
-places are dynamic rather than static ( i.e. have multiple identities and don’t have to have boundaries )
-she wrote about a global sense of place and argued that the character of a place can only be seen and understood by linking that place to places beyond because place is influenced by constantly changing elements of a wider world
what is globalisation and its impact on place?
-the process of the world’s economies, political systems and cultures becoming more strongly connected to each other
-some argue that it has made place less important as the forces of global capitalism have eroded local cultures and produced identical places / clone towns ( placelessness )
-e.g. most UK high streets have a Costa Coffee, Greggs and Tesco ( or similar chain shops ) and if these are the locales that structure social interactions and help develop a sense of place, then there is little that makes these locations different
-however, it could also be argued that because place is about people and different people will interact in the different locations, then these places are in fact unique
what is an example of a local place resisting the power of globalisation?
-within weeks of Costa’s proposal to open an outlet in the South Devon town of Totnes in 2012, 3/4 of the population had signed a petition saying that they supported the independent high street and would boycott any coffee shop chain that came to the town, and so Costa dropped their plans after an 8 month battle
-however, a coffee shop from a different national brand opened a branch in Totnes in 2019, so either the community’s opposition to such brands has lessened or their is some inevitability in becoming a clone town
what is localisation and its impact on place?
-a greater focus on local place and the promotion of local goods and services
-some places have introduced a local currency to encourage people to shop locally and keep their money in the local economy
-e.g. the Bristol Pound was launched in 2012 and in 2020, Bristol was looking for ways of creating an e-wallet and adapting to a cashless economy, but COVID-19 restrictions and other issues have limited Bristol Pay’s development and success
what is glocalisation and its impact on place?
-the adaptation of a global product to accommodate the user or consumer in a local market
-e.g. in Hindu countries, beef has been removed from the McDonald’s menu while in Muslim countries, pork has been removed, and the number of McCafes has increased in countries with a coffee culture such as Brazil
what are the two perspectives on place?
-insider = someone who is familiar with a place, and feels welcome and a sense of belonging there, e.g. residents of a country who all share the same cultural values
-outsider = someone who feels unwelcome or excluded from a place, e.g. international immigrants who don’t share the same cultural values as the residents of a country
what characteristics may an insider have?
-born in the same country
-hold a passport in that country
-fluent in the local language and conform with idioms
-conform with social norms and behavioural traits common in that place
-feel comfortable and that they belong there
what characteristics may an outsider have?
-not born in the same country
-hold a temporary visa
-not fluent in the local language or understand idioms
-not understand the unspoken rules of society
-feel homesick and alienated
what factors impact insider and outsider perspectives?
-age, e.g. a young person may feel like an outsider in a retirement village and an elderly person may feel like an outsider in a nightclub
-gender
-race
-ethnicity
-religion
-politics
-socio-economic status
-sexuality
how can insider and outsider perspectives change?
-as an immigrant family gets used to living in a community where they are an ethnic minority and integrates into society, they can begin to feel like insiders rather than outsiders
-the children of an immigrant family will have a different experience of place to their parents, leading to an unique sense of place for the area where they live
-people may begin to feel like outsiders, even if they initially identified as insiders to a place
-large influxes of immigrants into an area can change the characteristics of that place, e.g. the high street may change as shops adapt over time to cater for new cultures, which can make the original residents begin to feel like outsiders as their surroundings become unfamiliar
-alternatively, some people may embrace multiculturalism and the changes that occur as a result of immigration, such as the diversity of their high street which could actually make the place more appealing ( e.g. Chinatown attracts large numbers of tourists each year )
what are the categories of place?
-near
-far
-experienced
-media
what is meant by a near place?
-a place that is geographically or emotionally close
-some places feel more familiar than others due to personal experience and/or frequent representational exposure
what is meant by a far place?
-a place that is geographically or emotionally distant
-people are more likely to feel like outsiders in far places as they are less likely to have experienced them and feel comfortable in them
what is space-time compression and its impact on near and far places?
-the set of processes that cause the relative distances between places to decrease, effectively making them grow closer together in time
-e.g. improvements in travel technology mean that far places are quicker to get to and can therefore be experienced more easily and frequently, and improvements in information and communications technology ( ICT ) mean that people can be very familiar with media places which they have no lived experience of, so it’s increasingly likely today that people may feel closely connected to, and even like insiders, in places that are geographically far away
what is meant by an experienced place?
-a place that a person has actually visited and spent time in
-some people argue that you have to visit a place to create an emotional attachment to it, but others suggest that a desire to visit a place or dislike towards it due to media representations is enough to create a sense of place
what is meant by a media place?
-a place that a person hasn’t been to but has created a sense of place for through its depiction in media ( e.g. books, art and films )
-a person’s sense of a media place can be very different to the lived experience of the same place because the media may present it in a particular way and for a particular purpose
what is the media portrayal of rural living?
-the countryside in the UK has been idyllised and countryside living has been stereotyped as involving a happy, healthy and close-knit community experiencing few of the problems of urban life
-however, this idyllic image of the countryside hides a host of problems such as unemployment and underemployment, the scarce availability of affordable housing, the reduction in public transport services and rural homelessness
what is the media portrayal of city living?
-in contrast to the countryside, cities are often stereotyped in a negative way due to images of economic and social deprivation, homelessness, crime, vandalism and pollution
-although it is true that some of these problems are worse in urban areas, it is wrong to assume that all cities are the same since successful regeneration of urban areas has made city-living far more attractive in recent decades
what is meant by the character of a place?
-the specific qualities, attributes or features of a location that make it unique and help to distinguish it from other places
what are the two types of factors that affect place character?
-endogenous = the internal factors which shape a place’s character, e.g. location, topography, physical geography, land use, built environment, infrastructure and demographic and economic characteristics
-exogenous = the external factors which affect a place’s relationship with other places and shape its character, e.g. relative location and the flows of people, resources, money, investment and ideas in and out of a place
-over time, endogenous factors will be shaped by the changing flows of exogenous factors
how can the physical endogenous factors influence the character of a place?
-location = places can be characterised by the features that are present because of their location, e.g. a coastal place may be characterised as a port due to its direct proximity to the sea, whereas an inland place may not be a port but could be a local centre of trade if it’s located at a confluence of road routes
-topography ( i.e. the shape of the landscape ) = e.g. in a valley, places would be characterised as flat, whereas in a mountainous region, places would be characterised by steep slopes; topography also affects other factors that give places their character e.g. land use as flat places may be suitable for large-scale arable farming ( crops ), whilst mountainous regions may be suitable for certain types of pastoral farming ( grazing animals )
-physical geography ( e.g. altitude, soil type and geology ) = e.g. a place could have igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic rocks, which form different landscapes; physical geography also affects other factors that give places their character e.g. economic characteristics as a place that is rich in natural resources such as iron or coal may be characterised by the industries that can exist there, such as mining or smelting
how can the human endogenous factors influence the character of a place?
-land use = places can be characterised directly by the human activities that occur on the land, e.g. a place could be thought of as rural if the land use is farming, or urban if the land is used for commercial business; this also affects other factors that give places their character e.g. the built environment as high-rise, high-density buildings are often required for businesses in city centres, whereas residential and leisure land uses often require a lower density built environment; land use changes over time, e.g. processes such as deindustrialisation can lead to industrial land use being replaced by other land uses, such as housing or recreation
-built environment and infrastructure = villages will have fewer, smaller buildings at a lower density, less complex and dense infrastructure networks ( e.g. roads, communications and sewers ) and may have built features such as market squares or village halls and less contemporary architecture in contrast to town and city centres which may have sports stadia and cathedrals
-demographic factors ( e.g. age, gender, education level, religion, birth rates, ethnicity and population size ) = e.g. many people retire to seaside locations which means they can have higher proportions of older people and may be characterised as old places ( i.e. where older people feel like insiders )
-economic factors ( e.g. income, employment rates and the types of jobs avaliable ) = e.g. places that have a high proportion of above average earners and low unemployment, such as Kensington in London, are characterised as wealthy
how can the exogenous factors influence the character of a place?
-relative location to other places = e.g. villages and towns outside major cities can be characterised as commuter settlements ( i.e. people live in the villages for the nice environment but work in the city where there are greater employment opportunities )
-tourism = e.g. the land use and economic characteristics of Las Vegas are affected by tourism as the casinos and hotels are there for the tourists, and these create employment opportunities for local people
-migration = e.g. parts of the UK have an ethnically diverse population due to migration from other parts of the world, which gives some places their unique demographic characteristics, e.g. 27% of the population of Birmingham are of Asian descent
-flows of investment = e.g. Japanese car manufacturer Nissan has a factory in Sunderland and the flow of investment from Japan has influenced the land use around the factory, the built environment of the factory and the type of employment available
why are places constantly changing?
-all the factors that create their character are constantly changing due to the constant movement of people, ideas, wealth and information within them
why have flows of people, resources, money, investment and ideas increased in recent history?
-globalisation, e.g. improvements to transport, which have made it easier for people and goods to be transported, and communications ( e.g. the Internet ), which allow people to communicate with anyone else on the planet instantly
-these flows have caused more places to become more strongly connected to each other, and over increasing distances
what do the demographic characteristics of places relate to?
-who lives in a place and what they’re like, including factors such as age, gender, education level, religion, birth rates, ethnicity and population size
how can the demographic characteristics of places change due to the effects of changing external flows of people?
-on a local scale, younger people have been leaving the town of Uckfield in East Sussex as they are unable to afford to buy a house in the area, leaving an increasingly high proportion of older people and altering the age balance
-on an international scale, there are concerns that the large-scale migration from North Africa to Europe that started in 2015 altered the gender balance of some host towns, as a high proportion of the migrants are male
how can the demographic characteristics of places change due to the effects of changing external flows of money and investment?
-governments can invest money in specific places in order to attract people to live there
-e.g. in the UK, the London Docklands Development Corporation ( LDDC ) was a group set up by the government in 1981 to redevelop the Docklands area of London, and their schemes improved the economy and built environment, which resulted in the population more than doubling between 1981 and the early 21st century
how can the demographic characteristics of places change due to the effects of changing external flows of ideas and resources?
-ideas such as the use of birth control can flow to new places and affect their demographic characteristics, e.g. by reducing the birth rate and affecting the population size
-e.g. many of the poorest countries in the world have the lowest usage of birth control and rapid population growth, therefore international organisations such as the United Nations Population Fund ( UNFPA ) have been set up to spread knowledge and ideas about birth control, as well as supplying resources to aid birth control ( e.g. condoms )
what do the cultural characteristics of places relate to?
-how people live their lives, e.g. the foods, customs, clothing, traditions, language, art, attitudes, beliefs and values people have
how can the cultural characteristics of places change due to the effects of changing external flows of people?
-new people moving to a place, or even visiting it, bring their culture with them, which can change the characteristics of the place
-e.g. in the 20th century, the UK experienced mass international migrations from India, Pakistan and other Commonwealth countries ( mostly former British Empire territories ), which has created multi-ethnic communities in many places where there is a greater mix of languages spoken, religions practised and foods eaten
how can the cultural characteristics of places change due to the effects of changing external flows of money, investment and ideas?
-new cultural ideas introduced to places can change the characteristics of those places
-e.g. fast food companies from the USA such as KFC, McDonald’s and Pizza Hut opened restaurants in China in the 1980s and 1990s and have grown rapidly since, and it is thought that eating habits have changed in China as a result, with increasing numbers of people favouring western-style fast food over traditional Chinese food
what do the economic characteristics of places relate to?
-work and money, e.g. income, employment rates and the types of jobs available
how can the economic characteristics of places change due to the effects of changing external flows of people?
-e.g. St Ives in Cornwall used to be a fishing settlement, but it is now a popular tourist destination because the flows of tourism ( combined with a decline in the fishing industry ) have altered the types of jobs available in the area to service-based jobs in hospitality, shops and restaurants
how can the economic characteristics of places change due to the effects of changing external flows of resources?
-the outward flow of local products or natural resources from a place can have a large impact on local economies as products that may once have been consumed locally or regionally can now be sold to global markets
-e.g. the Scottish whisky industry has grown to be one of the largest industries in Scotland due to international exports, which has brought employment and money to a wide range of places across Scotland, including remote island communities where many distilleries are located
how can the economic characteristics of places change due to the effects of changing external flows of money and investment?
-reduced investment and competition from global markets has led to the decline of some primary industries in the UK ( deindustrialisation ), which has damaged the economies of many places, e.g. thousands of jobs were lost in South Wales when many coal mines were closed between the 1950s and 1980s
-however, inward flows of investment can have positive effects, e.g. investment in the finance industries in the City of London has created many high value service sector jobs and made it a wealthy place
what do the social characteristics of places relate to?
-what people’s lives are like, e.g. their overall quality of life, their access to adequate food supplies, healthcare, education, sanitation, leisure facilities etc.
-social inequalities are the differences in these factors between different groups of people
how can the social inequalities in places change due to the effects of changing external flows of people?
-e.g. in India, large-scale rural to urban regional migration has resulted in slums ( illegal, overcrowded settlements that often lack basic services ) developing in cities such as Mumbai
-the migrants often have a very low quality of life, without access to electricity, sanitation or clean water, in contrast to the high quality of life that wealthier residents in these cities have, and this gap is widening
how can the social inequalities in places change due to the effects of changing external flows of resources?
-the outward flow of natural resources from poorer countries can change levels of social inequality
-e.g. large amounts of oil are extracted around Warri in Nigeria and then exported around the world, but most of the wealth that is generated goes to a few individuals who have a high quality of life due to e.g. poor governance, while large numbers of people remain in poverty with a very low quality of life
how can the social inequalities in places change due to the effects of changing external flows of money and investment?
-the process of gentrification ( where wealthier people buy property in run-down areas and improve their housing ) has improved the social characteristics of some places, but it can also increase inequality
-e.g. Portland Road, Notting Hill was the worst slum and hence one of the most deprived areas in London in 1899, but in 2012, it was considered ‘the most gentrified street in the UK’ and home to some of London’s wealthier residents
-however, as the area has been transformed and decreased in deprivation level, social inequality between the wealthy newcomers and existing poorer residents has increased
what is meant by agents of change ( i.e. external forces )?
-people who impact on a place whether through living, working or trying to improve that place, e.g. residents, community groups, corporate entities, central and local government, and the media
how can government policies affect the characteristics of places?
-in China, the one-child policy was introduced as a method of reducing rapid population growth, but in France the government introduced policies ( such as lower taxes and better maternity leave conditions ) to increase the birth rate, both of which were successful at altering the demographic characteristics of their countries
-in the 1960s, the German government invited Turkish people to live and work in Germany due to a labour shortage from the post-war economic boom, and many people migrated and stayed long-term, which has resulted in aspects of Turkish culture becoming a part of German culture, e.g. Turkish fast food outlets are common across Germany, Turkish is the second most widely spoken language and Islam is widely practised
-governments can fund schemes aimed at regenerating run-down urban areas, e.g. in 1992 in Manchester, the Hulme City Challenge Partnership rebuilt houses, created a new park, refurbished shopping areas, built an arts venue and a business park, which led to an increase in the population in the area, created jobs, reduced unemployment and increased quality of life for some residents
how can the decisions of transnational corporations affect the characteristics of places?
-Detroit in the USA was a major global centre of car manufacturing in the early and mid 20th century, with TNCs such as Ford, General Motors and Chrysler all located there, and the investment from the TNCs gave the city a massive economic boom as large numbers of jobs were created, many of which offered comparatively high wages
-this altered the demographic characteristics of the city by attracting large numbers of migrants, both from the USA and other parts of the world, and the population grew to a peak of around 1.8 million in the 1950s
-after the 1950s, many of the manufacturing TNCs closed or relocated factories to places with cheaper labour such as Mexico, which led to massive population decline to 700,000 in 2010, 24.8% of the workforce being unemployed and social deprivation, with some of the highest crime rates in the USA
how can the impacts of international or global institutions affect the characteristics of places?
-the World Food Programme ( WFP ) is an international organisation that provides food assistance, often as emergency aid, wherever it is needed, and thus affects the social and demographic characteristics of places by ensuring that people have enough food, and preventing deaths from famine and starvation, e.g. there has been intense conflict in Yemen since 2015, which has meant that millions of people don’t have regular access to food, so the WFP has distributed food aid to millions of malnourished people
-the World Bank is an international organisation that invests in and helps to set up thousands of projects around the world that are aimed at reducing poverty, many of which affect the characteristics of the places where they are set up, e.g. between 2010 and 2016, the World Bank provided funding for the Ningbo New Countryside Development Project in Ningbo, China, which improved the social conditions in the area by providing wastewater disposal services to 144 rural villages that previously had no wastewater collection or treatment services
how do past and present connections shape places?
-connections between places in the past shape their character in the present, e.g. for centuries London and New York have been connected to each other and other major cities by sea trade routes, helping them to become more wealthy, attract more people, and be more closely linked to other cultures, therefore they gradually became world cities ( global centres of trade, politics, finance and culture often with huge, diverse populations )
-new connections are made between places in the present which can affect their character, e.g. London and New York have made new connections which strengthen their character as world cities, as they are now more closely connected through industries such as finance and banking because of the internet and faster air travel
how do past and present developments shape places?
-the way in which places developed in the past also strongly affects their character in the present, e.g. the past developments of cities shows how their present-day character was created
-many settlements in the UK initially developed because of factors to do with their location ( endogenous factors ), e.g. Sheffield was originally located at the confluence of two rivers, near to coal and iron ore reserves which would have been important factors for the early development of industry
-during the Industrial Revolution, large industrial cities developed that were globally connected through the trade of the goods produced, which resulted in large-scale rural to urban migration as people moved to the cities in search of work in the factories, and today, these old industrial centres remain as large cities, e.g. Sheffield became a major centre of the steel industry, trading items such as cutlery all around the globe, and the work available attracted workers and made Sheffield a major population centre
-in the later part of the 20th century, many UK cities were heavily affected by deindustrialisation ( the closure of factories due to increased automation, competition from abroad and the removal of manufacturing to developing countries where labour is cheaper ) and these cities remained as large population centres, but were less well connected globally due to the loss of trade, and suffered economic and social decline
how is the character of Sheffield now a mixture of its industrial past and the redevelopment work that is being done today?
-it is still characterised as an industrial city as steel works such as Sheffield Forgemasters still supply steel to international markets, and the heritage of the city has been retained by creating a conservation area ( i.e. the Cultural Industries Quarter ) to preserve historically significant roads and buildings and new art installations, such as the Cutting Edge sculpture, which reflect the industrial character of the city
-new connections have been made that add to the character of Sheffield, e.g. today it is also characterised as a student city, with over 50,000 students in two universities, and a place of academic and research excellence ( both universities have strong international academic reputations )
-the city has developed and made new connections in high-tech industries, e.g. the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre ( AMRC ) carries out research into cutting-edge manufacturing techniques, and in 2017, the car maker McLaren Automotive announced that it will build a plant near to the AMRC to build carbon fibre chassis for its new vehicles
-Sheffield City Council has been re-branding the city as ‘The Outdoor City’ with the aim to encourage tourism and boost events surrounding activities such as running, cycling, climbing and walking
why is it important to develop a sense of place?
-connecting with one’s surrounding environment establishes knowledge of and appreciation for its resources
-sense of place supports the development of one’s identity
-a strong sense of place can inspire stewardship and understanding, and nurture empathy
how can perception of place influence representation?
-individuals who are proud to come from a place may present it to others in a positive way, whilst individuals who have had a bad experience of a place may present it negatively to others
-organisations, such as tourism companies or local councils, may present places positively as they stand to gain from how the places are perceived, whilst newspapers may choose to focus on the negative aspects of a place in circumstances where it may help them to sell more copies
why are meanings and representations of places important?
-they can change how people behave towards those places, e.g. positive feelings about a place may make a person decide to go on holiday or invest in a business there, whilst negative feelings may make them avoid that place
-many people generate their identity based on the places they feel connected to
why are perceptions of places important at various scales?
-governments are keen to attract trade and investment into their countries and a positive place perception is therefore important at an international level
-they are also important at the local scale and increasingly organisations are being employed to promote place, build up a place brand or improve perceptions of place as investment in place is crucial for its survival and people are more likely to want to live or work in a place with a good reputation and positive image
why might different agents of change try to influence the perception of place?
-governments ( both nationally and locally ) = to attract people or investment to particular places
-corporate bodies ( organisations or groups that are identified by a particular name, e.g. businesses, government-funded agencies ) = to generate profit, or because they have been set up for a specific purpose, e.g. VisitBritain is an agency set up to promote tourism to the UK
-community or local groups = to attract investment and improve the local economy or the lives of local people by improving opportunities and services within an area, e.g. local people and business owners in Ludlow promote the town through organising a food festival every year which associates it with good food and attracts visitors to the area
what are some of the main strategies used to alter perceptions of place?
-place marketing = how places are sold like products to consumers ( i.e. the people who will potentially visit, move to the area or invest money there ) by e.g. marketing companies who may be employed to produce websites, design logos, run advertising campaigns and social media pages
-reimaging = disassociating places from bad pre-existing images in order to change their negative perceptions
-regeneration = a long term process involving redevelopment and the use of social, economic and environmental action to reverse urban decline and create sustainable communities
-rebranding = giving a place a new identity that is appealing to people and investors which is achieved through place marketing, reimaging and regeneration schemes
what are some examples of attempts at place marketing?
-in the UK, tourist organisations range from VisitBritain ( the non-departmental public body funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport ) to the individuals responsible for promoting a specific tourist attraction
-in 2012, the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority put retro-style posters on show at Cardiff Airport, UK railway stations and across the London Underground in order to increase tourism to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
-the Lake District is being promoted as the ‘Adventure Capital’ of the UK through a website and related social media pages which have details of all the available activities in the area
-the Lowry ( a theatre and gallery complex at Salford Quays, Greater Manchester ) is named after the local, famous early 20th century painter LS Lowry in order to attract visitors to the area
what are some examples of attempts at reimaging places?
-Birmingham has been dissociated from its poor pre-existing place image of high unemployment, abandoned factories and poor architecture in the 1980s and 1990s by turning old industrial areas into new developments, e.g. Brindleyplace is a former industrial site that has been repurposed into a town centre mixed development which includes shops, offices, residential areas, restaurants, bars, a gallery and a theatre
-in the late 1970s, Liverpool began to experience economic decline due to deindustrialisation which resulted in the closure of the docks, and riots in 1981 dominated newspaper headlines due to the lack of job opportunities and poor housing, so a number of large-scale regeneration projects were implemented by the Merseyside Development Corporation, including the Tate Liverpool art gallery and Albert Docks, which successfully reimaged the city’s industrial heritage through culture by leaving the exterior of the warehouses untouched but transforming the derelict interiors into modern art galleries, leading to Liverpool winning the title of European Capital of Culture in 2008
what are some examples of attempts at rebranding places?
-in 2013, the slogan ‘People Make Glasgow’ was introduced as the new brand name for Scotland’s largest city following a crowdsourcing social media campaign involving more than 1,500 people from 42 countries in order to highlight that the people that live and work there are what makes it a great place, making it a desirable place to live and visit to shop and spend money
-the short, powerful and memorable slogan ‘I amsterdam’ which presents the city as a welcoming and inclusive place was adopted for the rebranding and promotion of Amsterdam following threats to its reputation as a major international cultural centre in the late 20th century due to greater competition from other cities and social and economic decline, and now the sculpture of the motto in front of the city’s famous Rijksmuseum is photographed over 8,000 times a day, but it is argued that the rebranding has been too successful due to overtourism as tourist numbers were predicted to rise to over 20 million per year before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020
-the rebranding of Llandudno in North Wales as ‘Alice Town’ ( the idea of local entrepreneurs who gained funding from the town and county council and Visit Wales ), with associated art, walking trails, maps and apps, is an example of rebranding to promote heritage tourism which was successful in attracting visitors and is beneficial for the town because all profits are reinvested in community projects and new businesses like ‘The Looking Glass Ice Cream Parlour’ have created jobs for the locals
-VisitBritain’s ‘Great Names for Great Britain’ campaign in 2015 generated new Mandarin names for 101 British attractions, reached nearly 300 million potential Chinese tourists and boosted interest in travel to the UK, and Chinese visitors are high spenders and spend approximately £500 million a year in Britain ( a value which VisitBritain aims to double )
what is the positive representation of Belfast?
-represented as creative and cultural by the City Council and Tourist Board in an attempt to build a cosmopolitan city which is open and welcoming
-capital city of Northern Ireland
-population of 340,000
-the region’s economic powerhouse
-industrial city where the Titanic was built and which was once the largest producer of linen in the world
-has undergone a sustained period of calm and substantial economic and commercial growth since the Good Friday Peace Agreement was signed in 1998 following 30 years of conflict known as ‘the Troubles’
-large-scale redevelopment of the city centre with different parts of the city being rebranded as ‘quarters’, emphasising their unique history and culture
-the Titanic Quarter is one of the largest brownfield redevelopment sites in Europe and includes the Titanic Studios and more than 100 companies, including Citi, Microsoft and HBO
what is the contrasting representation of Belfast?
-links to the complex political history, high degree of religious segregation and the image of ‘bombs, bullets and balaclavas’ which dominated newspaper front pages in the late 20th century ( media representation )
-peace walls / lines that were constructed to keep neighbouring Protestants and Catholics apart and political parades are an important part of the history, but some argue that they reflect a city struggling to move beyond the disputes and arguments which have shaped its past, although it is hoped that the walls will be taken down as community relations strengthen
how has the reimaging and rebranding of Belfast been successful?
-tourism is now a major part of the economy as international visitors are attracted by the city’s culture and vibrancy rather than being put off by its history of violence
-in 2018, visitors spent 5.2 million nights in Belfast and contributed £400 million to the local economy
-tourists come to see the murals featured on some of the peace walls and sometimes write their own messages of peace and hope
-the Titanic Quarter is home to the Titanic Belfast Centre, visited by more than 4 million people from 145 countries and the set of the world’s most successful television series ( i.e. Game of Thrones )
what did the geographers Edward Relph and Yi-Fu Tuan say about place rebranding?
-it must start from the inside and involve local residents because without a thorough understanding of a place, it is difficult to regenerate and rebrand it, and for a place to be truly understood, people must have insider experiences of it which allow them to develop a sense of place / emotional attachment to it
-if insiders no longer feel connected to a place, it has less meaning to them which may jeopardise their sense of place and belonging, and thus they will be less likely to buy into the new brand and remain there, potentially making rebranding less successful in the long-term
why is place rebranding difficult?
-a brand image suitable for one group of stakeholders may be inappropriate for others, leading to competing / conflicting priorities which creates the challenge of trying to satisfy as many groups’ preferences as possible
-e.g. pre-existing residents often want to protect and project their local distinctiveness, while development agencies seek to establish place brands based on commercial advantages such as government incentives, available technology and an area’s international links, and therefore some city regeneration schemes have actually driven out the locals they originally intended to help, as rising property prices and rents have favoured more affluent people
what is meant by lived experience?
-a person’s first-hand experience of living in a particular place which contributes to their views and values
what is meant by objective?
-not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts
what are the two types of data?
-qualitative = data that is non-numerical and used in a relatively unstructured and open-ended way, i.e. descriptive information which often comes from interviews, focus groups or artistic depictions such as photographs
-quantitative = data that can be quantified and verified, and is amenable to statistical manipulation
how can statistics be used to represent places?
-statistics, such as census data, can give you lots of quantitative information about what places are like ( e.g. population, population structure, average income, crime figures etc. ) which can be in the form of raw data, or visually represented through things like charts or graphs
-statistics themselves are objective, but they can be used subjectively, e.g. people can select which data they wish to use for their particular purpose, and they tell us very little about the lived experience of a place
how can maps be used to represent places?
-maps can be used to show any sort of data that has a location, such as where physical features are, and quantitative demographic and economic data, e.g. different levels of income by location ( i.e. geospatial data )
-some maps can also show qualitative information, such as maps of indexes that show levels of happiness, which may be more helpful than quantitative maps for information about sense of place
-maps can show you reliable data, but they can also be misleading and include hidden bias, e.g. historical maps may be inaccurate and distort reality
-counter-mapping describes a bottom-up process by which people produce their own maps, informed by their own local knowledge and understanding of places ( i.e. subjective )
what is biomapping?
-a method of trying to measure sense of place ( also known as emotional cartography ) which involves the mapping of emotions shown by people to certain places through use of a device which records the wearer’s Galvanic Skin Response ( GSR )
how can visual representations be used to represent places?
-they show what places look like and can give some sense of the character of places, however they only represent what the artist wants to show you and can therefore be misleading
-photographs only show what a place looks like in a given moment, e.g. those taken at different times of day can make a place look and feel different, and they can be edited / altered so places appear different to the reality
-films and television evoke a sense of place that is dependent on the nature of the story being told, e.g. a crime drama set in a city might give a different sense of place to a romantic drama set in the same city
-paintings or sculptures can be less reliable than films and photography at showing what a place looks like as they are the artist’s interpretation, but they can be more effective at conveying sense of place and character as they can make a place distinctive
how can written representations be used to represent places?
-they can be used to describe places and can also evoke a sense of how it feels to be there, but they usually only offer the perspective of the author so may not show a complete picture
-newspaper articles can give lots of detail about places but they may be biased, e.g. newspapers may focus on the topics and ideas that are likely to sell more copies, rather than give a balanced perspective on a place
-stories, music and poetry can give an emotional impression of places, but only from the writer’s perspective
what is meant by a text and what are the two types of texts?
-any culturally-produced representation of something which is considered to contain meaning
-formal = produced by political, social and cultural agencies ( including local government and tourist boards ), along with large businesses
-informal = produced by individuals or small groups of people working outside of formal sector institutions
how is architecture important in the redevelopment and rebranding of a place?
-some redevelopment schemes utilise the existing style or heritage of buildings in an area, whereas others involve more radical change as part of a rebranding process
-e.g. the redevelopment of the SouthGate shopping centre in Bath mimics the city’s original and popular Georgian architecture with a Bath-stone exterior to retain the history, while the Bull Ring in central Birmingham was a much more radical redevelopment incorporating the construction of the iconic Selfridges department store with an exterior of 15,000 aluminium discs mounted onto a blue background to make it stand out and attract new people and investment
what is meant by gentrification?
-a process of social and economic change whereby middle-class people move into a formerly poor and rundown urban area and purchase the properties at cheaper prices, improving housing and attracting new businesses, which often results in the original population being priced out
what are some impacts of gentrification?
-greater wealth in the area
-increase in house prices and cost of living
-attracts affluent residents, visitors and investment
-improvement in deprivation level
-tension between newcomers and long-term residents
-increase in social inequality and subsequent decline of local, culturally significant businesses
-area becomes unaffordable leading to outmigration
