changing places

what can concept of place be broken down into

1. location

2. locale

3. sense of place

What is locale?

a place where something happens, or is set, or that has particular events associated with it

e.g Plymouth Hoe and firework championships

What is sense of place?

the subjective and emotional attachment to a place

e.g Plymouth Hoe, Uni graduations

what does Yi Fu Tuan say about topophilia

means love of place

character of place

the physical and human characteristics that help to distinguish a place from other places

Endogenous factors

characteristics of a place itself, factors that have originated internally

e.g geology- Devonian slate in Plymouth

Exogenous factors

the relationship of one place with another place and the external factors which affect this

e.g Immigration to create china town- ethnic enclave

Genius Loci

the spirit of the place

what are flows into a place

money

people

resources

ideas

Endogenous factors examples

1. cultural (e.g language, religion, heritage)

2. mobility of population for work/leisure

3. political factors (e.g resident groups/ local councils)

4. socio- economic (e.g jobs, income, health, school)

5. physical geography (e.g relief, geology)

6. demographic (e.g age, gender)

7. location (e.g proximity to other settlements, roads, rivers)

Exogenous factors examples

1. international migration (e.g diasporas)

2. 'newcomers' cause conflicts (e.g gentrification)

3. increase mobility of people- increase links between place

4. globalisation (forces to adapt e.g mining towns)

5. deindustrialisation (manufacturing moves overseas)

6. accessibility of place, influences of other places

Diaspora

A dispersion of people from their homeland

Insiders

someone with the perspective and experience who feels a strong sense of belonging, familiarity and connection to a place

e.g permanent resident of country, speak language fluently

Outsiders

new to area with no sense of belonging

from marginalised community such as homeless

e.g not fluent in local language

6 headings that affect character of place

1. socio-economic

2. cultural

3. demographic

4. built environment and infrastructure

5. sense of place

6. lived experience

what are socio-economic factors

- employment

- income

- deprivation

- health

What are cultural factors?

- ethnic diversity

- immigration

- language, food, festivals, dance, literature

What are demographic factors?

- age structure

- gender

what are built environment infrastructure factors

- housing type/age

- land use (commercial/ agricultural/ residential)

- derelict land

- transport links

what are sense of place factors

- place meaning

- emotional attachment

what are lived experience factors

- deprivation

- crime and safety

- community cohesion and conflict

- environmental quality

- facilities available

what scales is identity evident on

local, regional, national

Localism

affection for/ emotional ownership of place

e.g supporting local football team

could be demonstrated in "nimbyism"

NIMBYism

Not In My Back Yard - A situation where people are reluctant to have local area affected by development

e.g wind farms

Regionalism

loyalty to a distinct region with a population that shares similarities

e.g accent and shared dialect

Nationalism

A strong feeling of pride in and devotion to one's country, creates a sense of national consciousness

can potentially damage somebody's sense of belonging

e.g patriotism

how can religion be used to foster sense of identity in a place

- on a local level: churches, mosques ect. people from same religious background come together to worship

- larger scale: pilgrimages

how does political protest affect identity

in the early 21st century - reaction to unpopular political regimes and problems associated with capitalism, racial inequality ect.

strengthens group solidarity

can polarize a community

what does doreen massey say

places are dynamic not static due to globalisation

"what we need... is a global sense of the local."

what is homogenised place

a place where local cultures have eroded (due to capitalism and globalisation) creating identical places.

What is a clone town?

settlements where the high street is dominated by chain stores, making it look identical to other towns

Placelessness

the loss of uniqueness of place in the cultural landscape so that one place looks like the next

Glocalisation definition

multinational companies are also increasingly having to adapt to the local market place

e.g mcdonalds adapts in each country to local market place- sushi in Japan

Localisation of place

the process of making something local in character or restricting it to a particular place

e.g some places have a local currency like Guernsey

what is a sense of belonging influenced by

positionality

What is positionality?

Factors (eg gender, race, ethnicity, age, religion etc) which influence how people perceive places

what is well-being

the state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy.

what is near place

Geographically near to where a person lives

or emotionally important and how comfortable someone feels in a place

What is an experienced place?

Places that a person has spent time in

lived experience, stronger sense of place

What is a media place?

Places that a person has only read about or seen on forms of media ( e.g film, newspaper, book, social media)

e.g the film Annie, representing New York

what is provenance

who made the source of media, for what purpose, is there bias

e.g a tourism leaflet tries to make a place look more appealing

example of a song (media) representing a place

Pulp "Wickerman" represents Sheffield

"dirty brickwork"

"smelt of industrialisation"

what does Tim Cresswell argue (outsider/belonging/routine)

people things and practices and strongly linked to place so when people have acted out of place, they have deemed to have committed some kind of crime

How is insider and outsider perspectives shown in Blackburn

2007 BBC doc "white fright"

exploring ethnic and religious divide

- "taken over"

- banners/ chants not english - residents feel out of place

- purposefully avoiding areas

- cultural character changed

- racial attacks

agents of change in a place

local community groups

transnational corporations (Tesco)

individuals (activists, aristocrats)

local government

national government

national institutions (e.g national trust)

international institutions (EU)

global institutions (world trade organisation)

example of government policies as agent of change

regeneration schemes and financial incentives for industries such as tax breaks and enterprise zones

impact: attract businesses, stimulate positive multiplier effect

example of a TNC as an agent of change

2010 cadbury factory. closed near bristol and moved to poland

impact: job losses for employees, factory converted into housing

example of global institutions as an agent of change

2015 world bank was running 15 projects in Haiti

impacts: post earthquake reconstruction of homes and communities

what can shifting flows influence

meaning and representation of place

- up and coming? in decline? opportunities?

NEOM (Saudi Arabia)

flows: money, people, ideas, resources

agents of change: Saudi Arabia's public investment fund, public private partnerships

what is rebranding of a place

place is redeveloped and marketed so that it gains a new identity and attracts new clients

what two things are considered when rebranding a place

re-imaging

- disassociating a place from a pre existing negative image

regeneration

- physical redevelopment of an area (to create more sustainable future)

Why rebrand?

revive outdated place image

change poor pre existing place image

differentiate area from others

highlight change in places character

associate with international event (e.g olympics)

creates pride

to attract new investment, shops, tourists, residents

example of rebranding (national scale)

Turkey

rebranded as Türkiye

move away from western interpretations of word as a bird

applied to UN- recognised internationally

video to promote

changed on export goods

example of rebrand (local scale)

plymouth

"spirit of discovery" first rebrand to celebrate history

- negative reaction due to controversy of history

"positively plymouth" second rebrand

- vague

"Britain's ocean city" third rebrand

physical geography of devonport (endogenous factors)

sheltered natural harbour

- deep/wide estuary of river tamar

strategic coastal location

- close to english channel

- enabled rapid deployment for defence and trade

- prime sight for dockyard

topography and geology

- flat/ gently sloping enabled construction of dry docks

- stable Devonian slates and sandstone

location of devonport

access to fresh water and timber

- tamar valley provided forestry resources and water for early dockyard activity

agricultural hinterland

- offered food supplies for growing workforce and pop.

demographic cultural and mobility of devonport

small pre-existing fishing and farming settlement

-provided labour pool, place identity based on maritime

local labour skills

-early inhabitants: maritime, fishing, small craft skills suitable for dockyard work

overtime distinct naval working class culture

employment in devonport dockyard

270 shipwrights

71 ropeyard

(largest employed roles)

2021 census data (devonport)

education:

- 20% of Devonport pop. with no qualifications

housing:

- 30% of housing is socially rented

2021 census data (peverell ward)

education:

- 11% with no qualifications

housing:

- 75% have mortgage/own outright

2021 census data (plymouth as a whole)

education:

- 17% no qualifications

housing:

- 18% socially rented

what is geospatial data

data with a location

e.g what3words, latitude

what is the IMD scale

index of multiple deprivation

considers income/ employment/ education/ healthcare ect.

relative score, can rank places

Devonport vs Hartley IMD

1st is devonport as "most deprived"

Hartley is 9th as "least deprived"

crime data devonport vs hartley

DEVONPORT

sept 2025- 41 reports for violence/ sexual offences

total number is 87 in sept

HARTLEY

total of 40 crimes

oral history of devonport (fieldwork)

Phil Head - landlord of Steam Packet Inn

described as being "north corner boy" and "true devonportee"

used to be strong social and community aspect

now not strong topophilia/ community cohesion

since red row regenerated area in 2007

The guildhall devonport - built environment

doric architecture

- highlights affluence

devonport column

- shows importance

change in land use (now)

- modern/ residential

- elements of cobbled floors and brickwork remain

brian pollard guild hall depiction

1990s

naive style - loses detail

snapshot in time

relies on artists skills

subjective

crowds from 1992 jubilee - decreased overtime

agents of change in devonport (red row)

red row regeneration

- demolition of 60s wall

- reconnect area that has been isolated for decades

RIO

- immersive digital hub, heritage building to community space

- Dazzle! 2025- light festival celebrating

agents of change in devonport (RIO)

RIO

- immersive digital hub, heritage building to community space

- Dazzle! 2025- light festival celebrating

agents of change (defence growth)

defence growth deal

- 1 of 5 key national growth areas

- £250 million uk wide investment

- high quality jobs

the wall in devonport

nearby MOD

divides devonport

sets tone of deprivation

lack of community cohesion

red row demolished (not fully)

babcock in devonport

- bridge to connect north and south yard

community conflict/ visual pollution

NIMBYism bring together

- offers many new jobs

reduces deprivation

although not aligned with skillset of residents so go to plymouth people?

clemence dane poem on devonport

Plymouth Hoe

military themes "sailors"

social cohesion

community through difficult period of war

Brick lane timeline

In Tower Hamlets borough

originally called Whitechapel- renamed as local clay was used to make bricks

- secondary industry, heavy workforce, low skill/pay

French Huguenots settled- weaving/tailoring

- large windows for enough light- BE

Irish immigrants- breweries (Truman Brewery)

Jewish immigrants- markets

Bangladesh immigrants

- restaurants, nickname Banglatown

Now mainly vintage shops, retail - tertiary sector

Street art in brick lane

Mohammed Ali- the land is calling

- immigrant experience, duality and connection to heritage

- 50th anniversary of Bangladesh's independence

Stik's mural

- reinforce inclusivity and improves newcomers place meaning

truman brewery in brick lane

1660s as small brew house

cheap rents attracted creatives

transformed into hipster hub known for arts/ boutiques/ food trends

displaced bangladeshi community

gentrification