Changing Spaces Making Places (CSMP) Flashcards
What is a place?
a position in abstract space which can have meaning at a personal level (subjective) to at a social or cultural level (shared common meanings). At the heart of places are people as they live, work and play a space is changed into a place that conveys meaning and identity
A number of characteristics that interact to make the identity of a place at a local scale:
physical geography, demography, socio economic, cultural, political, built environment
how can we gather place knowledge broadly?
maps
What is an example of demographic factors?
who lives there, age, gender, ethnic breakdown, who visits, who works there
What is an example of socio economic factors affecting place identity?
employment levels, income, education, crime rates
What is an example of cultural factors affecting place identity?
religion, local traditions, clubs
What is an example of physical factors affecting place identity?
geology, altitude, rivers
What is an example of built environment factors affecting place identity?
road patterns, age and style of buildings
What is an example of political factors affecting place identity?
local MP, important issues to the area, housing and resident associations
What are shifting flows in a place’s identity?
People (commuting, migration), Resources (natural, technology), Money and Investment (EU funding, TNCs), Ideas (knowledge economy)
What is the case study to compare two contrasting localities?
Toxteth, Liverpool and Lympstone, East Devon
What are the main natural characteristics of Lympstone?
On edge of Exe Estuary, Sw facing
occupies a small valley which cuts through red breccia cliffs which mark edge of the estuary
extensive tidal mudflats
small beach of pebbles and gravel
What is the demography of Lympstone?
16.6 persons per hectare, top heavy age structure (area of retirement), 48 M and 51 F, 98% white
What are the key socio economic factors at play in Lympstone?
63% of economically active population employed, 21% retired, 4% of people have very bad health, 14% aged 16 or over with no formal qualifications
What are the key cultural factors in Lympstone?
largely christian society that run by christian calendar of easter and Christmas etc.
Natural characteristics of Toxteth:
on the east bank of river Mersey. occupies undulating land. the mersey is fast flowing past toxteth as its channel narrows before passing into Liverpool
Geography of toxteth:
87 persons per hectare, 19 times population fo Lympstone, 75% of residents aged between 16 and 64, 54% M and 46% F, greater ethnic diversity (white, black African Caribbean, mixed race, asian), large migrant population
Socio economic factors at play in toxteth:
12% unemployed, 2% retired, larger percentage of females economically active, 54% with no access to car
Religion in Toxteth:
cultural changes seen around time of major celebrations and festivals, large cultural and religious diversity
Political factors at play in Lympstone:
has a parish council with 11 elected people serving on the local government body
Political factors at play in Toxteth:
part of riverside ward, one of 30 wards making up Liverpool city council, each ward returns three councillors
Built environment in Lympstone:
began to expand in 19th century in response to local fishing industries but remained a small village essentially. largely detached residences. the heart of the village has strict planning rules.
Toxteth built environment:
mostly terraced housing, housing families of those employed in the docks. 90% terraced brick houses. urban and industrial.
Past connections in Lympstone:
saxons established lympstone having forced out Celtic inhabitants, small port operating under administration of Exeter with coastal and cross channel links. kept strong ties with sea as ship building thrived into 19th century. estuary was used for fishing. tourism began in 1840s seeing Lympstone attract number of wealthy families. railway in 1861 improved connectivity.
Shifting flows of people in Lympstone:
exeter uni has drawn people due to increased tertiary employment
Shifting flows of resources in Lympstone:
met office moved to Exeter in 2003. at the time largest movement of IT equipment in Europe
Shifting flows of ideas in Lympstone:
knowledge economy has had positive effect due to Exeter uni
Shifting flows of people in toxteth:
toxteth riots caused serious civil disturbances due to large numbers of unemployment in 1981
Shifting flows of resources in toxteth:
europe’s largest offshore wind farm is in Liverpool bay
Shifting flows of money in toxteth:
attempts have been made to make toxteth a thriving place (opening art galleries), EU funding to regenerate Liverpool’s profile
Shifting flows of ideas in toxteth:
liverpool science park opened in 2003
Past connections in toxteth:
started as royal hunting forest in 16th century, copper works began in 18th century giving city urban nature. soon river banks filled with docks. residential developments occurred hand in hand with industry. became attractive Greenfield site. demands increases and housing became low quality. transport improved
What is a diaspora?
A population of a country who may have migrated abroad and keep strong identity ties and have strong emotional attachment to their homeland.
More Chinese people live outside inland China than …..
French people live in france
Why is perception place complex?
as we do not see the world around us in the same way as others
Who are the Kurds:
an ethnic group spread across multiple Middle Eastern countries. it is known as Kurdistan and has between 28-30 million Kurds with another 2-3 million living in diasporas. Kurds want their own independent state but have suffered conflict with Turkish police
Formal representations:
offer objective, rational perspectives of a place profile, such as the number of people living in a place
Informal representations:
offer subjective views a place. they mean different things to different people in different times and different places
Formal agencies:
more date about places is now being collected stored and analysed than has ever been. agencies can be political social or cultural. Can be censuses, geospatial data, and in a way news articles should be formal but can lean towards informal.
Why is census important for government planning?
for planning: education services, healthcare services, infrastructure, housing, tackling crime
The influence of media in our perception of place:
television, TV soaps, books, music, blogs, films, social media, art, graffiti
What are three advantages of forma representations?
more objective because they are based on data that is harder to doubt.
censuses for example cover all places and the majority of people whilst informal only covers a select few.
easier to draw comparisons between data points
Four disadvantages of informal representations:
only represent a place at a specific point in time
often designed to achieve artistic goal
subjective and open to interpretation
difficult to draw comparisons
some places can become synonymous with an informal representation
What are six ways in which globalisation manifests itself in 2021?
migration, spread of ideas, technology, trade, transport, culture
What is time space compression?
reduction of friction of distance, a set of processes leading to a shrinking world caused by reductions in the relative distance between places
What are 5 factors influencing perception of place?
Age, gender, sexuality, religion, role
How can age affect place perception?
People’s perceptions change as they move through their life cycle. Such moves are commonly associated with changes to income of family size. Younger people who may have just left home will have a low income. Age will determine whether people live close to city centre with lots of transport links or if they live in the suburbs where it’s more quiet.
how can gender affect place perception?
Traditionally many places have been defined as being male or female. There is a stereotypical image of a woman’s place being in the house. the female private place of home contrasted with he public space of men (i.e. at football matches majority of crowd is male). However this has changed greatly. Now a more important factor is safety and the geography of fear which can alter place perception.
How does sexuality affect place perception?
sexuality can influence the way in which people use places. as the acceptance of different sexual orientations becomes more widespread, some places acquire a meaning because they are where LGBTQ people cluster. i.e. Brighton. people cluster together because of a sense of community. there is an economic aspect to the emergence of places defined on the basis of sexuality through LGBT tourism and the ‘pink’ pound which is helping with regeneration.
How does religion affect place perception?
people have given locations spiritual meaning for millennia. through buildings especially. also through the building of places of worship which can change the built environment a place. For example Jerusalem as the place of Jesus’ crucifixion has a large spiritual identity behind it. a lot of religious places can be seen as places of refuge, peace and healing.
How does role affect place perception?
as we go through life we can gain or lose rolls each of which can alter our perception of things and alter the things we look for in a place.
What is an example of a place that has a temporal shift in its meaning?
Glastonbury changes over the summer into the home of Glastonbury festival to just a regular park although the former meaning may be most dominant for many.
What is the main idea of influence of emotional attachment on place identity?
Memory is a personal thing which can alter place perception. Positive experiences tend to give us a strong connection to a place and vice versa. We receive memories as a group sometimes. Recall team’s sports grounds where fans may have had shared experiences. Or diasporas, people still have a very strong connection to their homeland
