Changing Spaces Making Places Flashcards
Define Place
A meaningful segment of geographical space- by Doreen Massey
Cheltenham vs Spitalfields (demographic factors)-how it shaped their place identity
Cheltenham
total population 118,000
18% 65+ -retired army officers go there (spa town)
Homogenous place- 88% ethnically White-British
(Cost too much for migrants, expensive housing, agricultural industries mainly white and wealthy)
Spitalfields
total population 10,200
5.2% 65+
Ethnically diverse-37.4% Bangladeshi 25.9% White British
Historical migration pattern- 1700s Irish migrants to work in silk weaving, 1800s Jewish, 1950s Bangladeshi
(More job opportunities, diasporas,industrial past)
Cheltenham vs Spitalfields (socio-economic factors)-how it shaped their place identity
Cheltenham:
Unemployment 2.3%
Spitalfields:
80% 16-64, studentified, many universities around
Unemployment 13.8%
Average income: 768pounds- near London, gentrification
Cheltenham vs Spitalfields (cultural factors)-how it shaped their place identity
Cheltenham:
Jazz festival, Literature festival, Science festival, Races
Spitalfields:
Great Muslim community- Brick Lane Mosque
Brick Lane Festival
Cheltenham vs Spitalfields (political factors)-how it shaped their place identity
Cheltenham:
Liberal Democrats took the seat recently representing Cheltenham in parliament
Used to be strong Conservative Party due to ageing population
Shows shift in demographics, due to GCHQ brought 10,000 jobs, influx of working age population
Spitalfields:
Predominantly been Labour Party
Cheltenham vs Spitalfields (Built Environment)-how it shaped their place identity
Cheltenham:
Georgian Styled
Spitalfields:
Victorian Terraced Housing
Diverse land use
Buildings damaged in WW2 and migration left stamps on the environment
‘Urban Palimpsest’- layers of histories
Old Spitalfields Market- fruits and vegetables
Temples and cultural buildings
Cheltenham vs Spitalfields (physical environment)-how it shaped their place identity
Cheltenham:
Mineral spring water- medicine benefits
Cotswold’- fertile agricultural region- market town
Spitalfields:
Transportation- near river Thames- migration and importing and exporting
Prone to flooding- low quality housing, poor people lives there
Smoke from factories in the central London due to the South West prevailing wind, gets blown to the east end of London
Bad pollution- don’t attract the rich
How past and present connections shape ‘place identity’ and embedded in regional, national and global scale? Cheltenham
1716- mineral spring water was discovered- health giving benefits- attracted retired army officers- increased tourism
Tourism- 2.3 million visitors per year
Cheltenham Races- ‘Cheltenham Festival’ including the Gold Cup started in 1860, global views reached 10 million
Literature festival- 151,000 tickets sold in 2015
Jazz Festival
GCHQ- brought 1 million jobs into Cheltenham- influx of young skilled population- transforming the demographic
How past and present connections shape ‘place identity’ and embedded in regional, national and global scale? Spitalfields
Industrial past- 1680 Spitalfields market
1700 silk weaving industry- products exported and imported
Migration- 1700s Irish migrants- silk weaving industries
1800s Jewish
1950s Bangladeshi
-new cultures and businesses
‘Urban Palimpsest’- histories stored in the city, layers on layers
How shifting flows of people, resources, capital and ideas have shaped place profile over time? Spitalfields
Flow of people:
Migration- changing demographics, but also left stamps ‘Urban Palimpsest’
Increase workforce in London, they would live in Spitalfields- pushing up local house prices, forcing old working class residents out of the area, gentrification, erodes the sense of place
Makes the region homogenous, breaking kingship patterns- family businesses
Commuting- historically used to be ‘close-knit community’, people work and live in same area, in textiles or markets
Increasing transportation, less people work in the area eroding sense of community
People don’t know their neighbours- more ‘transient’
New demographics- Queen Mary’s University, British School of Fashion- studentified
1970s more arts and fashion
Flow of capital:
Globalisation- outsourcing of silk weaving & textiles to LIDCs- deindustrialisation
-economic decline and urban decay
Regeneration projects- £400 million- private investment in Bishops Square- in office space, retail areas and apartments
Renewing urban areas, but ‘characterless buildings’
How shifting flows of people, resources, capitals and ideas have shaped place profile over time? Cheltenham
Flow of People- GCHQ relocating in Cheltenham- brought 100,000 jobs- ‘knowledge economy’- developing intangible goods- influx of young skilled professionals (47% of the population)- used to be ageing demographic
Cheltenham festivals and races, seasonal flow of people promoting Cheltenham
Flows of capitals and resources- £30 million invested into The Brewery and more retail space
Lower High Street- demolished much of its unattractive 1960s architecture, producing a more modern image- decrease sense of place
Complexity to define place
Location + meaning
Meaning could be on individual level (personal and subjective) or at a social or cultural level (shared meanings)
People have different perceptions of place / sense of place
How people perceive places in different ways based on their age
Geographer Yi Fu Tuan says: our attachment to a place increases with age, as we know more about that place- places become ‘time thickened’, complex and meaningful
Elderly residents have stronger ties to places than young transitionary population -strong topophilia
Perceptions may change due to:
Age restrictions on places
Social acceptance of different age groups in different places
E.g bars, local parks, playgrounds- changes in perceptions
However, places e.g for religious worship, may have the same meaning across all generations
How people perceive places in different ways based on their gender
Before, stereotypical views- ‘women’s place is at home’
‘Reclaim these streets’ protests- suggesting women’s safety, women is not safe going out, followed by Sarah Everard’s murder.
Laura Bates suggested ‘geographies of fear’ where women don’t feel safe to go out at night to parks or underground- changes people’s mental maps
Afghanistan- women banned from public spaces, can’t go out by themselves
How people perceive places in different ways based on their sexuality
Homosexuals felt ‘out of place’ in certain areas, having to hide their sexuality to avoid discrimination or hatred
Extreme geographies of fear in- Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Uganda
Now, LGBTQ+ communities developed- cluster together for sense of security
Festivals are held, ‘Birmingham Pride’- every year since 1997- celebrate LGBTQ+ achievement, life and love
How people perceive places in different ways based on their religion
Religions leave imprint on landscapes through things like places of worship- churches, mosques
Religious people may have different perceptions of places than non-religious people, or people of different religion
‘Ordinary’ vs ‘holy’
E.g Jerusalem to Christian and Islam- both think its sacred and have strong attachment to it
Sites of Christ’s crusifiction
Site of Muhammad’s ‘night journey’ and third most sacred shrine
How people perceive places in different ways based on their role
Behave differently when with friends and when with family- to shopping centre
When became a parent and when you are young going to playgrounds and parks
As a parent, perception of potential threat such as traffic
Elderly have a different perception to accessibility
How level of emotional attachment to place can influence people’s behaviour and activities in a place
Personal experiences: Positive experiences-strong emotional attachment- their nation, things they like, positive memories
Social experiences: when we gain memories as a part of the group. e.g sports fans extremely attached to their team’s homeground
They would want to visit these places
Greater willingness to participate in activities to protect the local environment
Define time space compression
The idea that distance between places is actually shrinking as technology enables more rapid communication and increased interaction between those places
How the processes of globalisation and time space compression can influence our sense of place
‘Global village’ used to describe the closer connections places now have- led to place profile changing
Increased mobility and communication led to ‘erosion of place’
Homogenisation of the world
Once distinctive places becomes ‘Clone towns’- dominated by chain stores
E.g shopping centres, high streets..
‘McDonaldisation’- not only McDonalds but the TNCs spreading across urban areas
Could lead to ‘end of geography’
Replication of cities, Macau with fake Effiel Tower and Big Ben
Industrial cities- Detroit, car manufacturing outsourcing to emerging countries, deindustrialisation
Define Informal representations of places
Subjective, a way of representing places using diverse media such as TV, film, or literature
How film shape the perceptions of place
Richard Curtis- which is a upper middle class, made the film “Notting Hill’
-people criticised the film being whitewashed, didn’t show the ethnic diversity that the local was proud off
Gay Richie- films created misrepresentation of east end of London, glorifying violence, leading to negative stereotypes
EastEnders- TV program portraying a nostalgic view of East End, but not the reality. Instead of Old Vic pubs, there are expensive coffee shops.
How music shapes perceptions of place
London Drill Music- form of rap, communicating issues of gangs, knife crime, etc- glorifying violence
Plan B released ‘Ill Manors’- protest song especially about the London Riot 2011, challenging stereotypes towards the lower class in London
