The main factors contributing to the character of places are different aspects of local, regional, national and international geography, physical geography, and demographic and economic factors. Some factors are endogenous, meaning the internal factors of a place. These can be physical factors such as location, topography, geology etc or human factors such as land use, infrastructure, demography etc. Other factors are exogenous, which are the external factors affecting the place characteristics. Globalisation plays a big part in exogenous factors, as globalisation has resulted in movement and expansion of people, capital, resources and ideas, which can be considered as exogenous factors.
Deindustrialisation is a big factor which has affected the characteristics of a place. It has completely changed the economic structure, leading to unemployment and urban decline in cities which have traditionally had a generic manufacturing base.