2.a. People see, experience and understand place in different ways, this can also change over time.

The complexities that exist when trying to define place, including the concept of space versus place. How and why people perceive places in different ways based on their identity, including age, gender, sexuality, religion and role. How level of emotional attachment to place can influence people's behaviour and activities in a place. How the processes of globalisation and time-space compression can influence our sense of place.

What is the definition of place?

A place is a space that has been given meaning by an individuals lived experience.

Places are multifaceted, shaped by shifting flows and connections, with change over time.

What is the definition of a space

Exists between places and does not have the same meaning attached as a place does. It is a location that can be given a latitude and a longitude.

How do we understand place?

Location - where a place is, the coordinates Locale - a place is shaped by people, their cultures and traditions A sense of place - Personal feelings associated with a place. Developed through lived experience, it reflects emotional and subjective attachment Lived experience - Actual feelings and personal history of living in a place. The time spent in a place helps develop this

How do emotions influence attachments to a place?

1. SOCIAL AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCES: if we have positive experiences in a place we are more likely to attribute a strong emotional attachment to it. We also get strong emotions as part of a group, i.e. the strong emotional attachment sports fans have to their team's home ground. People often have a similar, deeper attachment to nations. Especially true of people exiled from their homeland, eg. the Kurds.

2. EMOTIONS EFFECT OUR BEHAVIOUR IN A PLACE: eg. Auschwitz - sad, shocked, upset, emotional = quiet, thoughtful. Glastonbury - excited, happy = loud, dancing, carefree

What affects how people perceive place?

Gender Religion Age Sexuality Role

How and why do people experience places differently based on their identity - age?

Places change in purpose for people as they move through their life cycle, eg. a park for a 4 y/o is an exciting place to play, for a 16 y/o a place to hang out, and for an 80 y/o a place to walk or take grandchildren. Perception will also change when people revisit a place with different people. The place will change over time.

How and why do people experience places differently based on their identity - gender?

Places can be described as male or female, a reflection of society's traditional view on gender roles. For example a football stadium would be perceived as typically male, and a home would be perceived as typically female. Women tend to feel less safe than men is spaces like dark alleyways, i.e 'geography of fear' - places with an unsafe perception are avoided.

What is an example of a place where geography of fear is prominent?

New Delhi - India --> women try to avoid dangerous areas and going out in the dark.

Rape is reported every 4 hours.

How and why do people experience places differently based on their identity - sexuality?

Some places acquire a meaning because they are places where groups of people with the same orientation gather. Cities such as London, Brighton and Bristol have large concentrations of LGBTQ+ communities in certain areas, providing security. The 'pink pound' often brings economic benefits to an area, and can be used as a catalyst for regeneration.

How and why do people experience places differently based on their identity - religion?

Some places have religious and spiritual meanings which have been established over centuries. Natural features such as the Urulu play a key role in some religions, and are sacred to Aboriginals. Religious buildings such as the Great Mosque of Mecca form an essential part of worship and ritual, e.g. churches, synagogues and mosques. Places of pilgrimage are sacred to many religions, e.g. Mecca.

How and why do people experience places differently based on their identity - role?

As peoples' roles change, places' meanings change too. eg. for children their school has very different connotations and meanings than for their parents, or for an adult without children Role also influences perceptions of fear, anxiety and security, e.g. as a parent your perception of potential threats such as traffic may be heightened.

How does emotional attachment influence people's behaviour in a place - Kurds

The Kurds are an ethnic group spread across Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. There are about 28-30 million living in the heartland, making them the largest stateless nation in the world. Currently, they are Fighting in the Syria crisis for independence. The Kurds have long wanted their own independent state. The Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) is an organisation using armed conflict to bring about a Kurdish nation, but it is regarded as a terrorist organisation by the USA and EU economies.

What characteristics form a place's identity

• Demography

  • Culture

  • Political

  • Socio-economic

  • Physical geography

  • Built environment

How does emotional attachment influence people's behaviour and activities in a place

• People who have positive feelings in a place will have strong attachment to it

  • This may cause them to value the place more, for example if there is a local church in their village they will fight to protect it if it is at risk of getting knocked out

  • If someone has bad memories in a place, they will avoid it

How does globalisation influence our sense of place

• Globalisation can erode the unique identity of a location, causing a loss of distinct landscape characteristics. The dominance of TNCs creates clone towns where uniform shopping centres, corporate logos, and identical high street chains (e.g., Starbucks, Zara) make places look and feel interchangeable

• This makes our sense of place less authentic - we feel less attached to it

• Globalisation makes us look at places outwardly. Because we know how interconnected the world is, we see places through their multicultural communities and links to the wider world

• Globalisation can lead to more nationalism because people fear that their local area or country is becoming too fluid with other places and countries - this strengthens their sense of place but with negative consequences e.g. xenophobia

How does time-space compression influence our sense of place

• Physical distance no longer acts as a major barrier to human interaction. Because a person can instantly communicate with someone on the other side of the planet or fly across continents in hours, our sense of place is no longer confined to our immediate physical surroundings.

• for those who are highly connected (the "winners" of globalisation), time-space compression brings a sense of opportunity and global citizenship. Distant places feel familiar, accessible, and integrated into daily life, which can make a person's local sense of place feel less restrictive and more connected to a global network.

• for marginalized or economically isolated groups who lack digital access or mobility, the rapid pace of change can feel bewildering and exclusionary, leading to a sense of alienation, marginalisation, or a feeling that their local place is leaving them behind.

Globalisation

Globalisation is the increasing interconnectedness and interdependence of the world, economically, socially, politically and culturally.

Time-space compression

A set of processes leading to a 'shrinking world', caused by reductions in relative distance between places eg. travel time

Disadvantages of time-space compression

• Loss of distinct cultures (cultural globalisation) -- Americanisation and McDonaldisation

• Erodes aspects of cultural identity by the spread of predominantly Western culture, e.g. food, fashion etc. around the world

• Less able to access foreign cultures through travel

• high streets becoming increasingly similar -- threatens independent businesses, as they are pushed out with gentrification processes

• Increased competition between traders With gentrification and a loss of cultural identity, you get increasing property prices, which pushes some residents out and makes it difficult to get onto the property ladder

• Migration has become a greater issue (illegal immigration by boats) • People more likely to travel abroad for holidays, which has placed UK holiday resorts from the post-war years into decline

Advantages of time-space compressions

• Has facilitated the growth of tertiary and quaternary industries

• Rapid flow of information across national and international borders

• People can communicate instantly, e.g. international business has increased, or allows communication to be maintained between family and friends

• improved transport

• Ease of low-cost travel and flights makes international travel more accessible to more people

• Ease of containerisation and food transport to ship goods -- improved trade between nations

• More people able to migrate

• Increased variety of currency worldwide/ more easily available