Geography- Changing Places

what is place?

A definite location on a map, or it could refer to human or physical characteristics of a particular location.

what is space?

4 distinct zones:

intimate

personal

social

public

not every space has a meaning

how might experiences change the way you feel about a place?

Directly linked to feels about the place

(bad experience= bad feelings towards it)

what is the tourist gaze?

Created by business entrepreneurs and governments to be consumed by the public.

They choose what the public is allowed to access, and they mediate the experience, such as emotions.

Give an example of a place where the tourist gaze is used

Disney land

Bright colours

Happy music

Enthusiastic employees

positive experience- provides happiness

what is location?

Where a place is on a map

longitude and latitude

what is a locale?

a place where every day activities takes place

the settings effects social interactions and behaviour.

what is sense of place?

the subjective (personal) and emotional attachment to a place

its meaning

what is the descriptive approach?

the world being seen as something that can be defined by a set of laws/ rules using quantitive data

what is the social constructionist approach?

believes it is the social processes that help create places

John Anderson says that a place can be defined by the traces that exist in them.

material traces- e.g. buildings and statues

Non-material traces- e.g. events

what is the phenomenological approach?

interested in how an individual experiences a place, recognising the highly personal relationship between place and person.

Tuan argued that it is through human perception that we get to know a place.

Relph argues that the attachment, involvement and concern people have for a place, is critical for understanding the place

describe Trafalgar Square with a descriptive approach

In the City of Westminster, central London

measures 110 × 110 meters

reasonably flat site

Describe Trafalgar Square with a social constructionist approach

Lord Nelsons statue

Fountains

commemorative statues and sculptures

protests e.g. anti-Iraq war demonstrations

Describe Trafalgar Square with a phenomenological approach

Been used for community gatherings and political demonstrations (e.g. bloody Sunday)

The square has been controversial due to the statues links to colonisation

Define a private place

A space that is privately owned and have access being prevented or limited

Define a public space

A place that is open and accessible to the general public

Give 3 examples of private spaces

Schools

College grounds

Houses

Give me 1 example of a public space

A park

What is placemaking?

Deliberate process of planning, designing and making public spaces

ensures peoples needs are met

What is a near place?

small geographical distance

emotional connection with the place, the person feels comfortable there

What is a far place?

A large geographical distance

lack of emotional connection to the place, may feel discomfort there

how are near and far places changing?

Transport allows people to visit other countries and areas.

The internet allows you to have more knowledge about places which could create an emotional connection

Define an experienced place

A place that a person has visited and spent time in.

If we have experienced a place we tend to feel more comfortable there and create feelings about the place

what is topophilia?

A strong sense of love towards a particular place

what is topophobia?

What may induce topophobia?

Having a bad experience when in the place could induce negative feelings towards it

E.g. hearing of a negative event in the area or experiencing on yourself

What may induce topophilia?

visiting a place frequently and experiencing happy memories there

feeling comfortable and safe in that place

e.g. a holiday destination

what is a media place?

A place you have never visited

Have only seen/ heard about from films, books, art or any other media

How may insiders/outsiders help the government?

They would know where to put more support into the community from what the insiders have said.

How might near/far places help the government?

peoples perceptions of the place can be promoted to attract people to visit.

increasing tourism and therefore income.

How can public/private places help the government?

Having more private spaces increases the governments control over the accessibility of the area

How can experienced/media places help the government?

Media could help promote the place to make it more attractive.

would lead people to visit

What is an endogenous characteristic?

Factors found within places.

e.g. physical geography, land use, social and economic characteristics

What is an exogenous place?

forces outside the place

the relationship of one place with another

e.g. the socio economic, cultural and demographic, investment, money and resources

what is localisation?

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

what is globalisation?

a process by which national economies, societies and cultures have become increasingly integrated through the global network of trade, communication, transportation and immigration.

what is Gemeinschaft

ever-changing life of the large cosmopolitan, commercial city  

written by Tonnies 

what is Gesellschaft?

unchanging, peasant society, organised in a small inward-looking idyllic communities, based on kinship and supported by subsidence farming 

written by Tonnies 

What did Tim Cresswell say about home?

Home is where you can be yourself

what is placelessness?

• Introduced by Massey 

• Places that could be anywhere in the world 

• Occurs due to increased transport and globalisation  

Examples of places that could display placelessness

• petrol stations 

• hotels (especially chains) 

• cinema

• chain restaurants 

State a few places that could hold significance for some people and not for others

• Spiritual places 

• Sports arenas  

• Educational places 

• Buckingham palace 

How may stereotypes occur?

• famous products

• exaggerated truths

what is meaning?

relates to individual or collective perceptions of a place

What is representation?

how a place is portrayed or ‘seen’ in society

List some resources that can be used to represent a place 

• books

• art

• residents

• census data

What is qualitative data?

information that is non numerical and is descriptive

e.g. interviews and photos

What is quantitative data?

data that can be quantified and verified

describe the usefulness and problems of using statistics as representation

• can become subjective and people can choose the data they use 

• doesnt say much about the experience of the place

• reveals basic info about the population

describe the usefulness and problems of using maps as representation

• historical mapping cant be 100% trusted

• data is qualitative so people have differing opinions

• biomapping can allow a sense of place to be shown- more diverse representation 

describe the usefulness and problems of using interviews as representation

• can gain insights into individuals sense and perception of place

• can discover emotional elements of a place

• may have interviewer bias- e.g. leading questions

• may lead to demand characteristics