What Is Place?

Question 1

What is place?

Answer 1

• Portion of geographic space to which meaning has been given to people
• Place is not scale specific
• Concept of place is made of: location, locale and sense of place
• Places are shaped by internal and external linkages (Doreen Massey)
• All places change physically, and their meaning can change over time e.g. Oscwiecim to Auchwitz

Question 2

What factors influence a person’s interpretation about a place?

Answer 2

• Personal connections
• Interpretations of beauty
• Personality
• Historical and cultural factors
• Early experiences of different places

Question 3

What is place characterised by in human terms?

Answer 3

• Demographic features (Age proportion, population, ethnicity ratio etc.)
• Cultural features (Religion, language, fashion etc.)
• Socioeconomic features (Employment proportions, income, education etc.)

Question 4

What shapes the character of places?

Answer 4

• Shifting flows of and connections between people
• Topography
• Resources
• Climate
• Money
• Geology
• TNCs
• Migration

Question 5

How do TNCs shape the characteristic of places?

Answer 5

• Flows of commodities and capital easier therefore increased wealth
• Industrialisation and deindustrialisation in areas
• Acceleration of environmental decline and pollution
• Fast food chains shape healthcare demographic in poorer areas
• Physical change in high street resulting in ‘clone towns’
• Cultural homogeneity in many places

Question 6

How might human factors exclude certain people from a place?

Answer 6

• Accent or religion make you feel like an outsider

- Younger people may be socially restricted from an area

Question 7

How do fast food chains influence the characteristics of a place?

Answer 7

• Healthcare
• Clone towns
• Cultural homogeneity
• Changed employment structures (Zero hour contacts)

Question 8

How does the migration of people influence the characteristics of a place?

Answer 8

• Rural to urban = Shanty towns and unemployment in cities
• Services of an area adapt to meet cultural demand
• Influence demographic of an area
• In-migration of wealth increases house prices
• Changes in accents, dialects and language

Question 9

How does shifting flows of money influence the characteristics of a place?

Answer 9

• Employment structure changes e.g. increase in cash flow increases ‘white collar’ work
• FDI can lead to infrastructure improvements
• Investment leads to gentrification
• Investment in higher education = Studentification

Question 10

How do shifting flows of ideas influence the characteristics of a place?

Answer 10

• Development in structural engineering changes nature of buildings
• Development of ICT changes employment structures
• Can cause rapid industrialisation in many nations