Changing Places

Place

A location that has meaning. This can be personal (subjective) or shared (cultural, historical etc.). This includes the experiences, emotions and onnections associated with i

Space

A location with no meaning attached to it. Space becomes a place once it has meaning, significance or emotional connections

Location

The physical position of something, often given in coordinates or in relation to another place.

Home

A place of residence, but also a deeply personal and emotional space that is central to one’s identity and sense of belonging

Sense of place

The emotional and subjective attachment people feel towards a place. It is shaped by experiences, memories and meanings

Identity

How individuals or groups see and define themselves, often shapes by the places they are connected to. Places contribute to identity through the cultural, historical and personal significance

Insider

Someone who feels familiar with and connected to a place, often through personal experience, residence or cultural understanding.

Outsider

Someone who does not feel a sense of belonging in a place, often due to a lack of familiarity, cultural differences or exclusion

Near place

A place that feels close, this can be geographically near or emotionally familiar. It often refers to places that feel familiar and accessible

Far place

A place that feels distant, either geographically or emotionally. It may be unfamiliar, foreign or disconnected from personal experience.

Experienced places

Places that we have actually visited. Some people would argue that you have to visit a place to create an emotional attachment to it.

Media places

A place that people understand or form opinions about through media sources (like TV, film, news, or social media) rather than direct experience.

Placelessness

A lack of unique character or identity in a place, often due to globalisation. e.g Seeing the same shops, buildings or layouts in many locations (UK high street, airports etc.)

Xenophobia

The fear or dislike of people perceived as foreign or “other”. In geography, it relates to attitudes towards outsiders or immigrants and impacts perceptions of place.

Other

People who are seen as different or seperate from the dominant social group. In geography, it often refers to how some people are marginalised or made to feel like they don’t belong in a place.

Topophilia

A strong, positive emotional attachment to a place, love of place

Topophobia

A fear or dislike of a particular place, often due to bad experiences, negative associations or cultural exclusion.

Genius Loci

The spirit of a place. It suggests that every place has a unique spirit or atmosphere, based on everything for the location is made up of, now and in the past.

Place character

Relates to the specific qualities, attributes or features of a location that makes it unique. Place character is affected by endogenous and exogenous factors

Endogenous factors

Those which originate from within the place and are local:

• Land use - rural or urban?

• Topography - the relief and lie of the land

• Physical geography.- are there natural physical features e.g estuaries?

• Infrastructure - built services that enhance/essential to living conditions

  • Roads, railways, airports

  • Broadband/phone networks, water supply

  • Parks, schools, hospitals, libraries

  • Education system, health care, law enforcement

• Demographic characteristics - age gender, number, ethnicity of pop

• Built environment - the architecture of the area

• Location - elevation, distance to the coast

• Economic characteristics - in debt, growth markets, aging industries

Exogenous factors

Those which originate from outside a place and provide linkages and relationships with and to other places. Commonly referred to flows of:

• People - impact of tourists, workers, migrants, refugees, visitors

  • Germany has 1.4M asylum seekers who integrate into their society, though also creating political and social disputes

• Money and investment - trade deals, tax, major events, new businesses

  • Example: investment into Stratford in London, during and after hosting olympics had a long lasting impact on its place charatcer

• Resources - availability of raw materials, products, food, water energy

  • Due to good transportation networks, UK is food secure