Character of Place Flashcards
What factors shape the character of s as place?
Endogenous and exogenous.
Define endogenous.
Internal factors that shape character of place. Can be physical like location and topography or human like land use, built environment and demographic.
Define exogenous.
External factors that shape the character of a place. This includes the relationship to other places and the flows in and out of the place.
What is location and how does it shape place character?
Refers to where a place is (Rural, coastal or urban).
Places can be characterised by the features that are present because of their location. Eg: a coastal place may be characterised by a port due to its proximity to the sea.
What is topography and how does it affect character of place?
The shape of the landscape.
I’m a valley places would be characterised by flat ground whereas mountainous areas are characterised by steep slopes.
What is physical geography and how does it affect character of place?
The environmental features of a place (Altitude, soil and rock type).
Can be characterised directly by physical geography eg: different rock type forming different landscapes.
Can affect other factors. Eg: natural resources like coal may be characterised by industry as mining.
What is land use and how does it affect character of place?
The human activities that occur on the land (farming, industry and residential).
Directly defines character like an area of farming being known as rural. Also affects the built environment ( high rise buildings or cottages).
Land use changes over time.
What is built environment and how does it affect character of place?
Aspects of places that are built by humans.
Includes infrastructure which is transport and services.
Can be affected directly by their built environment and infrastructure:
-villages have few smaller buildings with less complex infrastructure networks.
-Cities have high density buildings and advanced infrastructure networks.
What are demographic characteristics and how does it affect character of place?
Who lives in a place and what they’re like. Including, age, gender, ethnicity and population.
Demographic directly contributes to character of place. Eg: older people moving to the sea side may make it characterised as old.
What are economic characteristics and how do they affect character of place?
Factors to do with work and money. Eg: income, employment rates and types of job available.
Directly contributes to character of place and how it is viewed economically.
How is character of a place affected by their relative location to other places?
Villages and towns by cities can be characterised as commuter settlements. People can enjoy the quiet life of a village but work in the city for greater employment opportunities.
How does tourism affect the character of a place?
Affects the land use and economic characteristics. For example, Las Vegas has developed casinos for the tourists which provide employment for the locals.
How do flows of investment affect character of place?
Flow of investment like building a factory will change land use, built environment and employment availability for the locals.
How does migration affect character of places?
Some areas may have a more ethnically diverse population due to migration from other parts of the world.
