The nature and importance of places: the concept of place
• The concept of place is highly CONCEPTUAL and SUBJECTIVE
• It composes of many different (interdependent) aspects
1. Sense of place - the subjective, emotional attachment to a place - linked to perception
and locale
2. Locale - the activities that take place within a place. The locale may change depending
on temporal aspects and events within the year e.g. festival towns, holiday towns etc…
3. Location - where a place can be plotted on a map or de ned by a grid reference
geographically.
• Place = location + meaning
• Globalisation has also increased the occurrence of placelessness as places are becoming
more uniform and similar. This can be seen on traditional high streets which are now often
dominated by TNCs. These spaces can be considered as ‘clone towns’ as they all begin to look
identical
Theoretical approaches to place
1. Descriptive - each place is considered as distinctive
2. Social constructionism - each place is a product of its social process
3. Phenomenological approach - observe how an individual experiences place and the
personal relationships between a place and a person. This has been studied by many
geographers including:
A. Yi - Fu Tuan - argued that there was an affective bond between people and places
and that it is through human experiences that we know a place well. He expressed the
love of a place as Topophilia and the fear of a place as Topophobia
B. Edward Relph - argued that the degree of attachment and involvement/ concern is
critical in our understanding of a particular place
Links between perception, attachment, identity and representation
• Attachment is created through shared experiences within a place. It may often be related to
cultural, relatable aspects of place
• Attachment usually increases with age as we gain greater experiences of a place
• This can alter our own personal identity
• Localism - love of a local place with smaller communities. This has the potential to manifest
itself in NIMBYISM (not in my backyard mentality) as communities may be reluctant to the
place changing
• Regionalism - the love of a region and/or city. This feeds into the idea of people from
certain places conducting themselves in a certain manner e.g. a New Yorker, a Londoner
etc… (someone experiencing regionalism may also experience localism)
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, • Nationalism - the love of a country. This may result in right-wing political movements to
prevent change to the ‘character’ of the country
• In order to reclaim a regional identity, localisation may occur. This happens when a small
area decides to adopt its own currency that can be traded within the area to promote an
emphasis on local services and small businesses
• Attachment to a place may also depend on the representation of a place
• An example of this can be seen in the 9/11 memorial in New York. For visitors, it may seem
like a tourist attraction representing a historical event, but for locals, they may nd walking
past it/ being in the vicinity traumatic
• This differing sense of place may lead to con ict and further promotes the idea of insides
and outsiders
The concept of a ‘global sense of place’
• Doreen Massey questioned the idea that places are static, suggesting that they are actually
dynamic, with multiple identities and no boundaries
• She believed that, globally, places are not actually independent
• She argued that places can only become connected and understood by seeing the links
between places far beyond the original place, further emphasising increasing multiculturalism
Insider and outsider perspectives on place.
• Particular groups are excluded because of their social and/or economic position within a place
e.g. homeless people, the elderly, disabled people, ethnic minorities etc…
Insider Outsider
• A person is born in X or have parents who were born • A person is not born in X or has immigrant parents
in X • A person is a visitor of X, who does not have the rights
• A person is a citizen of X who has the right to vote and to work or vote
work in X • A person is not uent in the primary language of X
• A person is uent in the primary language spoken in X • A person does not understand the idiomms used in
• A person understands the idioms used in the the langauge spoken in X
language spoken in X • A person misunderstands the societal norms in X
• A person understands the societal norms within X • A person feels unsafe and unhappy in X
• A person feels safe and happy in X • A person feels/ is unwelcome in X
• A person feels/ is welcome in X • A person may face discrimination for a characteristic
within X
Categories of place
• Near place - somewhere geographically close
• Far place- somewhere of geographical distance
• The idea of ‘Near and Far’ can be more than geographical. It can also refer to emotional
distances from a place or the comfort one may feel in a place
• Experienced place- a place a person has spent time in, they are able to shape their own sense
of place. They are often real places and for the most part, are near places
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