space and place

Influencing place perception - gender - explanation

• Places labelled as masculine/feminine.

• Divisions reflected the roles society assigned each gender

• Fear influences people’s mental maps to steer clear of places, especially at night due to safety

• Influences architects and planners decisions as safety is a much higher priority nowadays.

Influencing place perception - gender - examples

• Traditional stereotypes for women include the home and for men include the home and the workplace

• Areas with high crime rates may be steered clear of, especially by lone women at night doe to acts that may have been committed in there areas.

Influencing place perception - religion - explanation

• People give spiritual meaning to sacred areas eg. Holy sites, churches, mosques, synagogues.

• People go to places to practice their religion or go on large pilgrimages.

Influencing place perception - religion - example

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Influencing place perception - age - explanation

• People’s perceptions change as they get older through factors such as financial stability, education and health.

Influencing place perception - age - examples

• A park -

• Child views it as a fun recreational area.

• A teen may have memories but sees it as childish.

• Adult may have memories but can see it from parents point of view.

• Grandparent may see it as annoying (they like quiet) or a good reflection area of a place with memories for their grandchildren.

Influencing place perception - sexuality - explanation

• Different areas respective acceptance of different sexualities could impact who visits.

• If an area is not accepting and known to be so, many people for the lgbtq community may steer clear.

• In accepting areas there may be an increase in visiting from lgbtq groups.

Influencing place perception - sexuality - examples

• Manchester ‘the gay village’ is very accepting.

• Brighton has been labelled the lgbtq capital of the UK

• These areas are characterised by concentrations of restaurants, bars, and clubs which are lgbtq friendly.

• These places have benefitted massively by being open to lgbtq community as many people cluster together in these areas for the sense of security which boosts local economies directly.

Influencing place perception - role performed - explanation

• People who have different roles in society will have different perceptions of place.

• A student will perceive their school differently than an elderly person would.

• Perceptions and behaviour will change depending on the person you’re with.

• Someone going shopping with their friends will be behaving differently to if they were with their parents.

• Parents may look out for potential hazards,

Influencing place perception - role performed - examples

Different roles have differing perceptions and behaviour and one’s role can also be affected by all the other parts of the GRASP acronym.

Explain how perception can influence sense of place (6 marks)

Perception of an area can vary due to a multitude of different factors however one significant one is the age of a person. There are many examples of where this could be applicable, but the main point is a child is going to view a place very differently to an elderly person. One example is a park: a child would view this as a fun area to play with friends and have a good time whereas an elderly person may view this as past memories or if they are slightly more cynical an annoying place where youngsters hang around.

Another factor that influences a person’s place perception is someone’s gender. Men and women can view areas very differently due to acceptance, stereotypes and also safety. Safety is an important one as many women perceive areas very differently, especially at nighttime, due to high crime rates and ongoing social issues. It is no surprise that women do feel unsafe in areas due to crime rates and previous crimes that have been committed in these areas which make them see the place very differently to a man who may feel completely safe. However this isn’t always the case as in the UK men suffer a lot more violent crimes than women do so this can work both ways.

Finally, sexuality can also change peoples place perception. An area known for its acceptance of different sexualities is often viewed on much more positively by the LGBT community in comparison to other not so accepting areas. Examples include Manchester’s ‘gay village’, Soho in London and large areas of san Francisco. All of these areas have become hubs of LGBT clusters of people and have become worldwide beacons to this group. This has led to a change in perception of these areas from anyone who classes themselves as LGBT.