Changing Places

Place

A place has a physical location, a locale and a connection to those living there

Locale

The effect that people have on their setting

Sense of place

The emotional and subjective attachment to a place that people have

Increasing attachment to a place by:

Frequency of positive experiences, memories, memories of others, presentation within the media, knowledge of place, and intensity of experience

Identity can be influenced by place through:

Language and accent, culture (food, social norms, and values) and ethnicity

Percieved positive changes to a place

Make people prouder of their heritage and identity, because of what their community has been able to do

Perceived negative changes

Make people ashamed or embarrassed by their identity and heritage as the changes may not align with their own opinions and values

Placemaking

The deliberate shaping of an environment to facilitate social interaction and improve a community’s quality of life

Localism

An affection or emotional ownership of a particular place, leading to reluctance for change to their local area (usually development)

Regionalism

Consciousness of, and loyalty to a distinct region with a population that shares similarities

Nationalism

Loyalty and devotion to a nation, which creates a sense of national consciousness

Insider perspective

The perspective of someone who knows the place well, so is familiar with the topography and daily rhythms / events

Outsider perspective

The perspective of someone who does not know a place well, or is not accepted into society

Social exclusion

People being excluded from participating in society by certain groups of people

Spatial exclusion

People excluded from certain areas within a country

Near place

A place that is close geographically of a place with a strong emotional connection

Far place

A place that is far geographically or a place with a weak / no emotional connection to it

Experienced place

A place that a person has actually spent time in and has experiences with

Media place

A place that a person has not spent time in and has only seen through the media

Placeless place

A place that lacks any distinct features, usually due to the prevalence of chain stores and restaurants

Endogenous Factor

The internal factors which shape a place’s character. These can be physical or human.

Exogenous Factor

The external factors which shape a place’s character, including the relationship to other places and the flows in and out of a place

Physical Endogenous Factors

Location, topography and physical geography

Human endogenous factors

Land use, built environment, demographic characteristics and economic characteristics

Location

Physical endogenous characteristic that refers to where a place in geographically, and the features present because of its location.

Topography

Physical endogenous factor that refers to the shape of the landscape

Physical geography

Physical endogenous factor that refers to the environmental features of a place, such as soil and rock types

Land use

Human endogenous factor that refers to the human activities that take place on the land

Built environment

Human endogenous factor that refers to the aspects of a place that are built by humans

Demographic characteristics

Human endogenous factors that refers to who lives in a place and their characteristics

Economic characteristics

Human endogenous factor that refers to the work and money available in a place

Location to other settlements

Exogenous factor that refers to the distance to other settlements

Tourism

Exogenous factor that refers to the influence that tourists have on a place

Flows of Investment

Exogenous factor that refers to where money is spent within a country, from companies

Migration

Exogenous factor that refers to the movement of people within a country, and the effect that it has on a place

Exchange of knowledge and ideas

Exogenous factor that refers to how ideas spread across places and to other settlements, and the impact that they have.

Globalisation

The increase in flows of people, resources and ideas all allowing for places to become more connected to each other over increasing distances

Localisation

The focus on local products and goods, preventing large TNC’s from taking over.

Forces of change

Government, local community groups, institutions, individuals and transnational corporations

Government policies impact on demographic characteristics of a place

They can both limit and increase the population, as they can both increase or decrease the birth rate

Decisions of multinational corporations impact on demographic characteristics

They often provide a large amount of stable jobs, encouraging economic migrants, which mostly consist of young men

Decisions of multinational corporations impact on cultural characteristics of a place

The economic migrants often bring their own culture with them, leading to cultural changes within the place

International / global institutions impact on demographic characteristics

Aid can change the structure of the population, by preventing unnecessary deaths, increasing the population

International / global institutions impact on cultural characteristics

Global institutions provide funding for many different projects, helping them to develop and introducing them to new cultures

Past connections effect character in the present

Past connections can still be felt in the present, allowing for the connection to grow and benefit the present population.

New connections effect on character of place

New connections can continue to improve the relationship between places, improving their quality of life.

Past development effect on character of place

Past development can characterise a place in a certain way, which may still be felt in the character of the present.

Place meaning

An individuals perception of place, and can change between people.

Qualitative representations of place

Films, photography, art, stories, articles, music and poetry

Issues with quantitative data

Objective data that does not describe sense of place

Issues with qualitative data

Subjective and only from one persons perspective

Management and manipulation of place - meanings

The changing of a place meaning to influence people’s behaviour towards the place.

Strategies to manage and manipulate place meaning

Place marketing, reimagine and rebranding

Placemaking

The deliberate shaping of an environment to facilitate social interaction and improve a community’s quality of life.

Reimaging

A place disassociating itself from a negative pre - existing image

Rebranding

A place is redeveloped and marketed to to gain a new identity

Place - marketing

External companies are employed to improve its perception within the general public

Regeneration

A long term process involving the redevelopment and use of social, economic and environmental action to reverse urban decline

RP - Statistics

Quantitative data on population structure, average income and crime rate - objective but can be used subjectively - nothing on sense of place

RP - Maps

Both quantitative and qualitative - data that has a location - can be misleading or inaccurate such as historical maps

RP - Film and photography

Qualitative data - photography shows the place in a given moment - film evokes a sense of place which is dependent on the nature of the story told

RP - Art

Qualitative - artists interpretation of a place - effective at conveying a sense of place and character

RP - Written representation

Qualitative - describes a place showing how it feels to be in the place - only shows one perspective - can be biased