Place Profiles

All places, regardless of scale have a political profile. From local council through to election constituencies, residents vote on the political party they wish to represent them. 

UK politics has been traditionally dominated by two main political parties, the Conservatives and Labour, and they control the majority of constituencies (650 in total across the UK). 

The general pattern is that urban areas tend to vote Labour, whilst rural areas are more likely to vote Conservative in England. The other three nations N. Ireland, Scotland & Wales see a large percentage of seats won by parties representing just those countries such as the SNP and Plaid Cymru. 

Some are 'safe seats' where a large majority is held (Newbury is a safe Conservative seat with 61% of the vote). Others are much more marginal, with a slim majority (Richmond in London won by just 45 votes in 2017). 

Some areas elect a much smaller political party, such as Brighton with the only Green Party MP in the country. This reflects a strong environmental movement in Brighton. 

As migration continues to change places across the UK, the impact can be seen in the cultural characteristics of particularly towns and cities. This has a direct impact on the built environment as shown below. 

Furthermore, certain areas become synonymous with a particular culture if a particular ethnic group has an established history in the area. Most major cities around the world have 'quarters/towns' linked to particular nationalities such as 'China Town' & 'Little Italy'. 

Others can be seen as more of a melting pot of different cultures such as Brick Lane in East London with a particularly strong South East Asian influence. 

These can have a significant impact on the identity of a place. Often they are a source of important income from tourism (although this can be contentious).  Areas such as the Lake District receive millions of tourists a year which has a significant impact on the profile of the area. 

Furthermore difficult natural characteristics limit the growth of towns and cities and as a result the North & West of the UK have a much lower population density than the South & East. 

The built environment of a place is often influenced by the residents of the area. If an area has received large numbers of migrants, then the area is likely to include places of worship, restaurants and shops from the country of origin.

Furthermore, natural characteristics can impact on the built environment, cities such as Hong Kong & Singapore are dominated by skyscrapers due to a very high population density as a result of the small territory of the city. 

Successive waves of architectural innovations can be seen in our largest cities. With frequent changes to the skyline reflecting styles and trends in architecture over time.  

Globalisation and time-space compression has led to increasing flows of people and resources around the world. All places have changed in some way due to this, some more obvious than others:

• Large cities are the product of flows of people, their ideas and cultures and constantly evolving as different people pass through. 

• Transport hubs such as Heathrow Airport are huge economic assets due to the jobs and income they provide for the local area (over 76,000 people work at Heathrow). 

• Places which are able to attract Foreign Direct Investment are shaped by the money and capital that it brings. This can often be seen when a large TNC invest in an area, building a large office or campus shaping the built environment. This also leads to job creation and wider investment and the multiplier effect in the local economy (such as Vodafone's headquarters in Newbury).