The complexities that exist when trying to define place:
Place = something with an objective or subjective meaning that defines it such as an address
or your home. Culture, ethnicity education and money affect interpretation. There are three
concepts of place – Location (objective), Locale (objective the people, customs and cultures
within it) and a sense of place (subjective reflects emotional attachment).
Space = the area between places without meanings, however as where people recognise as
a ‘place’ is subjective so are ‘spaces’.
How and why people perceive places in different ways:
Age – Perceptions change through life cycle
Gender – Societal differences in the role of men and women due to tradition and safety (fear
restricts personal geography)
Sexuality – Increasing acceptance led to clusters of LGBT groups (Manchester Gay Village).
Regeneration schemes benefit economically from the ‘pink pound’
Religion – Giving spiritual meanings to a location. Natural features sacred to human groups
(Uluru, Australia for Aboriginal creation stories). Religious meanings given to buildings
(Synagogues in Judaism, Churches in Christianity and Mosques in Islam). Jerusalem
important for all 3 (ancient capital of the Jewish state, Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection,
site of Muhammad’s ‘night journey’).
Role – Individuals perform a variety of roles that influence place perception.
How level of emotional attachment to place can influence people’s behaviour and
activities in a place:
Emotional Attachment = the emotional bond between a person and place, influenced
largely by their personal experiences there.
Separatism = Claims for, or practice of, separation of a group of people from a larger state
on the basis of their ethnicity or unified culture, traditions, religion and language.
Causes – Economic depression/peripheral location around wealthier core, minority
language, religion or culture, collapse of state weakening political power and exploitation of
local resources.
Consequences – Civil war/disobedience, terrorism, growth of separate political parties,
language protection and establishment of societies with separate cultures.
Diaspora = the dispersion or spread of people from their original homeland.
The Kurds:
Ethnic group of about 30 million spread across a number of Middle Eastern countries
(Kurdistan spreads across Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey) and another 2 million living as a
diaspora. They make up the fourth-largest ethnic group in the Middle East, but they have
never obtained a permanent nation state. An organisation called The Kurdistan party use
armed conflict to fight for a Kurdish nation, and it is viewed as a terrorist organisation by the
USA and EU countries. Culture has been oppressed, merging them with distinctively
different Arabs without a progressive culture (Kurdish support women in positions of high
power).
The Basques:
Indigenous ethnic group located in the Basque Country (Northern Spain) who have strong
cultural traditions and emotional attachment. Euskara is the language spoken in the Basque
country and was banned on buildings, road signs and publications with the teaching of the
language also being illegal by Franco who led Spain until 1975. Due to this the cultural
identity of the Basques was supressed for more than 40 years. The ETA is a terrorist group
formed in 1959 and quickly declaring war on Spain in the 1960s for autonomy of the Basque
and a Basque parliament. ETA has 800 killings attributed to itself but declared a ceasefire in
September 2010.
How processes of globalisation and space-time compression can influence our sense
of place:
Globalisation = the growing integration and interdependence of people’s lives in a complex
process with economic, social, political and environmental components which allows goods
and cultural exchanges to occur
Space-time compression = the reduction in the relative distances between places due to an
interconnected set of processes. ‘Global village’ is a term used to covey the idea of spacetime compression.
Many people argue this has led to ‘placelessness’ where global capitalism has eroded local
culture and identities. To oppose this the idea of ‘glocalisation’ has been created to promote
local goods.
Corby
Initial agricultural landscape, 1500 people pre-WW1. Iron ore availability initiated
steelwork’s company Stewarts and Lloyds who recruited workers across UK (Scotland) in the
1940s depression. Post WW2 District council influenced growth with migration. 1950s Corby
of hospitality and tolerance with a stimulated local economy. UK steel industry fell into
decline due to competition from China who produced 767 million tonnes more Steel in 2013
(flat profits since 1997 and 0.1% of UK economy).
The Fittie Squares, Aberdeen
Originally developed as 80 purpose-built fishermen houses. Extended in 1855 as Pilot
Squares for wealthy boatmen. Ample job supply from shipyards but poor water supply
(cholera outbreaks). 1969 oil discovered offshore attracted foreign workers from USA. Value
of Fittie Squares lost as obstruction to giant oil tanks in harbour- traditions threatened.
Disconnected from Aberdeen, 1980 diminishing fish stocks and quotas caused reduced
economy and globalisation threatened village. Now sustained by tourism.
Informal and formal representations of place:
Informal- TV, film, music, art, photography, literature, graffiti and blogs.
Formal- Census (an official count/survey), statistics, geospatial data and maps.