8.1 concept of place

Location

Physical point of where a place is

Place

A location that has different meanings to various people

Placelessness

Concept that a location lacks uniqueness - the location carries the same meanings as other locations eg shopping centre

Locales

Locations in a place that are associated with everyday activities eg school

Locales structure social interactions and people are likely to show specific behavior traits in a specific locale

Insider perspective

The perspective of someone who lives in the place

Outsider perspective

Perspective on a place comes from someone who is visiting or has never been there (media representations)

Also perspective of someone who feels they don’t belong/feel unwelcome in a place

Importance of place

Cultural significance

Social interactions

Cultural diversity

Identity and belonging

Economic activities

Environmental interaction

Sense of security

Identity and belonging in terms of place

People form strong connections to places, places shape individuals identities and provide sense of belonging

Cultrual significance in terms of place

Places can be associated with important cultural events and traditions

Social interaction in terms of place

Places are where people gather, work, relax and build relationships, where communities connect

Cultural diversity in terms of place

Regions and locations often have distinct languages, cuisines, art forms and ways of life which enrich human experiences

Sense of security in terms of place

Crime rates, natural disaster risk and the availability to emergency services can affect peoples sense of security and piece of mind

Environmental interaction in terms of place

Places differ because of their different environments and environmental factors shape human activities

Economic activities in terms of place

Location is critical for economic activities

Sense of place

The subjective emotional attachment to a place which gives it meaning eg might have a strong sense of place towards your house

What makes a clone town

Dominance of chain shops and lack of local, independent businesses

Argument against placlessness

As place is about people, different people will interact in the different locales, so these places are actually unique as its the individual memories that people create within their locales

What does geography Yi-Fu Tan

That attachment to a place grows stronger over time. As you have experience in a place, you are more likely to be attached to the place. This experience can have different levels of intensity due to importance to you.

Topophilia

The love of a place and having a strong attachment to it

Topophobia

The dislike of a place, possible to experience topophobia and still have a strong attachment to the place

Near places

Geographically close

High familiarity

Strong sense of local identity linked to place

Far places

Geographically far, distant

Lower familiarity/ less impact on sense of place

Perceptions may be stereotypical

Experienced places

Places we have visited, some argue you have to visit a place to form an emotional attachment to it, other say a desire to see a place or dislike of place can be formed through the media and is enough to create an emotional attachment

Media places

Places we haven’t visited but may have learned about through media representations

Genius loci

The spirit of a place, suggests every place has a unique spirit or atmosphere

Endogenous factors

Originate internally and relate to the site of a place, eg location, topography, land use, built environment

Exogenous factors

Originate externally and relate to links or influences from other places, and relationships with other places shown by movement or flow across space (flow of money, people)

Topography

The arrangement of the natural and artificial physical features of an area