CSMP (Topic 4) Flashcards
What is place?
- A place is a portion of geographic space whose identity is viewed as being distinctive in some way. An area that humans have given ‘meaning’ to
What is ‘space’?
- ‘Space’ is the area between places and does not have the same meaning as the same ‘meanings’ that places
Why is the relationship between ‘places’ and ‘spaces’ complex?
- A ‘space’ for one person can be a ‘place for someone else - i.e. North Atlantic is a space for many people who have no connection but would be a place for deep sea fisherman who use it as a source of livelihoods
What 3 elements make up a ‘place’? What do they mean?
1) Location - where physically is (i.e. coordinates)
2) Locale - physical setting in which social interactions occur (i.e the way a place looks - mosques & markets where people meet and interact)
3) Sense of Place - feelings and emotions a place evokes (i.e. some would see Baghdad as a war zone, others as a home)
What are characteristics that can make up a places’ identity? [6]
1) Physical geography (i.e. topography of land),
2) Demography (i.e. age/gender/ethnicity),
3) Socio-Economic (i.e employment levels),
4) Cultural (i.e. religion, traditions),
5) Built Environment (i.e style and age of buildings)
6) and Political (i.e local govt, national govt, interest groups locally)
What different factors can alter someones perception of place? [6]
Age, Role, Gender, Sexuality, Religion, Ethnicity
Explain how someones gender might alter someones perception of place? [2]
1) ‘Male’/’Female’ places - places might be sterotyped as being ‘male’ (i.e football stadium) or ‘female’ (i.e baby-toddler group) and therefore might spark feelings of being connected/positive or isolated/negative about a place depending on your gender
2) ‘Safety’ of places - women may feel dark alley in urban area is less safe and percieve it as they are more likely to be victims of assault, rape (creating a ‘geography of fear’)
What is a ‘geography of fear’?
- A place that is perceived to be be unsafe or dangerous by people. This perception can be affected by your age, gender, sexuality of ethnicity
Explain how someones age might alter someones perception of place? [3]
1) Positive or negative due to age - i.e inner city might be exciting for student who wants opportunities but scary for pensioner who is worried about crime
2) Needs/functions of place change as you age (i.e suburbs might be boring for a teenager as few entertainment options but be useful for a parent with kids who want space and quieter life)
3) Memories of a place might mean older people have greater emotional attachment of a place rather than younger people
Explain how someones sexuality might alter someones perception of place? [2]
1) Safe spaces for marginalised groups - i.e LBGTQ+ community might feel more secure in ‘gay’ areas like Brighton or Castro Distric in SF as they are the majority and less like to be discriminated
2) An area of opportunity for people of a certain sexuality - Brighton has been regenerated by ‘gay owned’ businesses, creating new opportunities for people in the LBGTQ+ community
Explain how someones religion might alter someones perception of place? [2]
1) Certain buildings would have more significance for religious people -i.e synagogue in a town is more important to Jews than other religions
2) Certain places/locations have religious importance - i.e Mecca as a place of pilgrimage for Muslims, Jerusalem for Jews, Christians and Muslims
Explain how someones role might alter someones perception of place? [2]
1) Role changes as age and some how we behave/use a place - i.e a prefect in school will behave differently than a younger student who has just started (or parent vs teenager in relation to school)
2) Role can influence your fear of a place - i.e parent may see inner city as a dangerous place for their kids vs a independent 20 year old with no role as a parent
Explain how someones ethnicity might alter someones perception of place? [2]
1) Safe spaces for marginalised groups - i.e Black community in U.K may feel more comfortable living in same area as ‘safety in numbers’ and less likely to be persecueted
2) Certain locations may have more emotional attachment than others to certain ethnicities (i.e barbershop for black community in U.S is a place of community and socialising - would not have same meaning for white Americans)
What is emotional attachment to place?
a emotional connection to a place that can be either positive/negative depending on your personal experiences of it or feelings connected to a wider group (i.e Kurds and Kurdistan)
Where is Kurdistan?
Kurds are a nation of people that live in several states (i.e. Syria, Iraq, Iran & Turkey) and want to form own state ‘Kurdistan’. There is a wider Kurdish disapora especially in Germany
Emotional attachment to place and Kurds?
Strong emotional attachment by Kurds in area (and diaspora) as this area considered ‘the homeland’ and community has been collectively brought together by this group being persecuted in other states (i.e. Sadeem Hussein in Iraq) evicted from areas & protests by diaspora in other countries (i.e. Kurds living in Germany)
What is globalisation?
- Way that the world is becoming more interconnected and intertwined, economically, politically, socially and culturally
What is time-space compression?
- the processes that cause relative distance between places (i.e in travel time/cost) to get smaller
- improvements in technology (i.e aeroplanes, telecommunications, the internet) mean that places do not get physically closer but ‘appear/feel’ closer
What is the global village?
- the idea that the world is more connected due to technology than ever before (if not physically smaller) and has the feel of a close knit community ‘village’
How has improvements in telecommunications altered our sense of place?
- Mobile phone technology and the internet (i.e online banking, social media) mean that global communication is much easier - we can send information, money and ideas (i.e democracy) to the other side of the world very quickly = far places don’t seem so distant and can feel more connected to them
What are the negative impacts of globalisation on sense of place? (3)
1) Global brands (i.e McDonalds/Starbucks) can bring familiarity to places but reduces the uniqueness of places by replacing local services unique to a place (i.e clone towns can occur - look and feel the same)
2) Some areas lose out - globalisation means industry/businesses can leave and go to other areas (i.e global shift in manufacturing) and this can create a negative sense of place for some areas (i.e Detroit has profile of poor, crime city due to loss of car manufacturing to overseas)
3) Some people can adapt to changes/others can feel dislocated from places thy knew
What is the impact of globalisation on political profiles of places?
- Increased interconnectedness has made some places retreat to ‘old identities’ (i.e rise of nationalism - “Make America Great Again” “Brexit”)
What is the definition of informal representations of place?
- A representation of place that gives the geographic context of an area usually through sights or sounds. It is often subjective (made by individuals or small groups) and can come in very diverse forms (i.e films, TV, songs, paintings)
- Informal representations do not have to reflect reality - they can be an individual impression of a place
What is the definition of a formal representation of place?
- A representation of place that shows places through data and statistics.
- Often objective and is made by official, trusted & authentic sources (i.e national government)
- Formal data can often be geo-located on maps