Embedded Files
Perception of Place
Perception of Place
Key Terms
Key Terms
Space - exists between places and does not have the meanings that places do.
Place - can have an objective meaning, such as an address or a set of co-ordinates. But it can also have a subjective meaning: some aspect of a place that humans have added for whatever reason.
Formal Representation - objective (usually data based) ways of portraying a place.
Informal Representation - subjective ways of portraying a place through a range of media.
Emotional Attachment - the feeling of possessiveness that an occupant has towards a particular territory because of its associations with self-image or social identity.
Globalisation - the increasing interconnectedness and interdependence of the world, economically, socially, politically and culturally.
Global Village - the idea that the world has become smaller, not in a physical sense but because of greater inter-connectedness.
Time-Space Compression - the idea that space is no longer the barrier it once was to communication and movement of people, goods and ideas.
Consider how the LGBTQ community perceive Brighton's Gay district. What emotional response does it evoke?
Perception of Place
Perception of Place
Our perception and use of spaces/places depends on who we are, some categories to consider are:
Gender
Religion
Age
Sexuality
Place/Role in society
Emotional Attachment to Place
Emotional Attachment to Place
Certain places evoke an emotional response from certain people. This can be both a positive or negative reaction.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCES: If we have positive experiences of a place we are likely to have strong emotional attachments to that place and vice versa. e.g. favourite holiday destination, first home, the university you studied at.
SOCIAL EXPERIENCES: We can receive memories and feelings as part of a group e.g. the very strong emotional attachments some sports fans feel to their team’s home ground.
EXAMPLE - The Kurdistan Region of the Middle East
For the Kurdish population, the denial of their own internationally recognised territory and the persecution they have faced has only strengthened their emotional attachment to the area they claim.
Globalisation & Time-Space Compression
Globalisation & Time-Space Compression
Globalisation (particularly since the 1960s) has transformed our experience of places.
It has allowed far more people to experience different parts of the world first hand, making the unfamiliar and distant much more familiar.
Improvements in technology have connected places through the internet and social media, allowing us much greater indirect experience of places that were traditionally outside of our experience.
It has transformed our experience of local places. Increased migration has led to much more cultural diverse local places, with different ethnic groups bringing their cultural identity to the places that inhabit.
It has led to the growth and spread of Transnational Corporations. Many now operate on every continent and in the majority of countries. Their growth has allowed them to dominate the services and leisure activities offered in local places, often at the expense of independent businesses.
Critics of Globalisation argue that it has reduced or removed completely the individuality of places with Western culture and ideologies taking the place of unique cultural experiences and ways of life.
Representations of Place
Representations of Place
Places are represented in a diverse range of ways. It is important to consider how different representations portray different places and how the same place can be portrayed in different ways. We group these into formal and informal representations.
Formal Representations
Formal Representations
Formal Representations are objective and factual portrayals of a particular place. They are usually compiled by government organisations such as the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Examples include:
The Census - carried out across the UK every 10 years, with detailed demographic, socio-economic & cultural information about the UKs population.
Crime Statistics - arrests and police investigations are logged by location on the Police.uk website.
House Price Data - collected by websites such as Zoopla and show the average house price of an area based on recent sales and estimated current value.
Index of Multiple Deprivation - last collated in 2015 and ranks 32,000 areas England and Wales from most to least deprived using an average of socio-economic indicators.
Informal Representations
Informal Representations
Informal Representations are subjective and don't represent an area factually. There are a wide range of media including:
TV Shows & Films
Art, Photography & Graffiti
Travel writing & Song lyrics
It is important to consider the complexities of informal representations of places:
Who has produced the representation?
What is the purpose of that representation?
How do different representations portray the same place?
How does that portrayal compare to formal representations of that place?
What are the impacts of informal portrayals of places?
Report abuse