Changing places

Stratford, London (distant place study)

Housing estates were demolished for the Olympics, top down approach, the place is now regenerated with a large green space for recreation and has attracted investors and tourists. This has however gentrified the area and it's said to lost its character

Bournville, Birmingham (place of continuity)

Built by Cadburys family for workers, lots of green spaces and encourages sport etc. Same positive ethos and community spirit despite Birmingham growing around it.

Medellin, Columbia (place of change)

Once ran by drug Lord Escabo who had power. Following his death, investments changed the place from an area of poverty and crime into a model for a sustainable city.

Place

Somewhere that consists of a location, locale and has subjective feeling associated to it

Locale

Any setting for social interaction

Descriptive approach to place

Idea that each place can be studied and is unique

Social constructionist approach to place

Idea that place is a product of it’s social events

Social phenomenological approch to place

Idea that place is based on the relationship between insider and outsider perspectives as well as topophilia and topophobia

Topophilia

Strong sence of love of a particular place

Topophobia

Fear / dread of a place

Insiders

Born in the country, permanent residence, fluent in local language, understands society, safe and happy, feels at home

Outsiders

Not born from the country, temporary visitor, not fluent in language, misunderstands social interactions, homesick, feels out of place

identity

includes aspects such as ethnicity, nationality, gender, and personal experiences, shaping how individuals perceive themselves and how they interact with others

localism

the preference for your area in close proximity to you, involves affection or emotional ownership, can be reflected by NIMBYism

regionalism

the consciousness of and loyalty to a distinct region within a country that shares similarities and can have a government influence

nationalism

loyalty to and devotion to a nation, can be engineered by governments and media, also called patriotism

globalism

people view themselves as truly global citizens and realise that their actions and lives are governed by forces at a planetary scale

John Montgomery’s triangle of place and identity

• physical setting

• activity

• meaning/image

Placelessness

Places that lack unique character or reputation, due to chain stores replacing local independent shops or a lack of attachment experienced by people visiting the location.

Firstspace

Quantitive analysis, census, looks at demographic

Secondspace

Qualitative data, art, photography, how people feel about a place

Thirdspace

Using both qualitative and quantitative data to build a better image of a place

Place attachment

A psychological concept that describes the emotional bond between a place and a person

Clone towning

Removing local and independant businesses amd replacing them with chain stores, removing uniqueness leading to placelessness

Glocalisation

Global businesses adapting how they operate based on the country

Factors that can force change

• Social interactions

• Economic changes

• Migration

• Terrorism

• Natural disasters

3 R's of changing a place

Reimaging- improving reputation of a place

Rebranding- developing with marketing to gain a new identity and attract investors and visitors, can invlove other 2 Rs

Regeneration- long term, sustainable improvements following a period for decline

Top down approaches

Decisions made by authorities that are imposed on local communities

Bottom up approaches

Decisions are made based on listening to local people’s opinions and involvement

Agent for change

Any group of people who impact a place through working, living or trying to improve a place, can be postive or negative

Near place

Somewhere familiar that feels like home and you are comfortable in

Far place

A foreign, alien place that has different cultural norms

Experienced place

A place you have visited and developed a sense of place for

Media place

The perception of the place has been formed from what we’ve seen on the media through TV, news and social media

Issue with media place

Creates a distorted view of a place with expectations which are ruined once you experience the place, examples are Paris Syndrome and the Rural Idyll

Two contrasting places of continuity and change

Bournville in Birmingham and Medellin in Columbia

What is quantitative data?

Data that is verifiable, objective and able to be manipulated into correlations or measures of central tendency

What is qualitative data?

can be observed and recorded. descriptive information which can come from interviews, focus groups or artistic descriptions such as photographs or paintings. It is more subjective

evaluate music as a data recourse

+captures emotion and atmosphere, encourages creative interpretations

-subjective, limited by medium, potential for stereotyping

evaluate re-photography as a data recourse

+captures atmosphere, visual context, reflects history

-requires interpretation and potential for misrepresentation

evaluate paintings as a data recourse

+offers personal insights, captures emotion, provides visual context, reflects contemporary culture, encourages creating interpretation

-artists bias, requires interpretation

evaluate textual sources as a data recourse

+offers personal experience, easy to compare with different sources

-influenced by demographic, economic status, education, is subjective to experience

evaluate poetry as a data resource

+strongly shows emotion, builds a picture, good when used with other sources, represents place identity/character/experience well

-very subjective and biased