Changing Spaces, Making Places
What’s in a place?
We look at the similarities and differences between places. Globalisation1 has meant
that increasing numbers of places are linked with each other through complex
connections.
At the heart of places are people. As they live, work and play, space is changed into
place. ‘A place comes into existence when humans give meaning to part of the
larger, undifferentiated space.’ (Tuan, 1977) Places are dynamic in changing in
terms of their physical and human geographies but also the meanings associated
with them.
Perception = the way in which places are understood or interpreted.
Perception depends on:
G – Gender
R – Religion
A – Age
S – Sexuality
P – Performed role
Our culture, personal background and socio-economic level influence how we
perceive/interpret our local area/immediate environment.
Emotional attachment
Personal experiences – if we have positive experiences of a place, we are
more likely to have emotional attachment
Social experiences – can receive memories and feelings as part of a group to
gin emotional attachment
Example – Kurdistan
Between 25 and 35 million Kurds inhabit a mountainous region straddling the
borders of Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Armenia. They make up the fourth
largest ethnic group in the Middle East.
There are another 2-3 million living in diaspora2
Nation united by culture without a state or sovereign power
1.1 million labour force
1
The growing integration and interdependence of people’s lives in a complex process with economic, social
(cultural), political and environmental components
2
The spread of an ethnic or national group from their homeland
, 6% unemployed
GDP = £4,452
Kurds make up between 7 to 10% of Syria’s population
Promised a state after WW1 but when Ottoman Empire was divided, no land
was given
Globalisation and time-space compression
Changing the ways people both experience and understand places.
Time-space compression3 means that space is no longer the barrier it once
was to communication and movement of people, goods and ideas.
As a result of these changes, how we perceive places is altered.
For some people the changes to a place as a result of time-space
compression are easily accommodated and they benefit from them. However
for some, the changes can be disturbing and mean that they no longer ‘feel at
home’.
Some can feel a sense of dislocation from the places they grew up in or
currently live in.
Representing places
The way in which a place is represented by the media influences how we feel about
that place. Media agencies can be split into formal and informal categories:
Informal ways of representing place – television, film, music, art, photography.
Television soaps represent places through the lives of local people. These
programmes build up a strong fictional representation of places. Many films
rely on their representation of place to tell their story to the viewer.
Formal ways of representing place – data is collected and stored, much of it
spatial. This data allows places to be represented and investigated. Census
data of households allows government planning and allocation of resources.
Formal ways of representation do have some degree of subjectivity as a
census may record a place as rural but would the residents think of
themselves as rural dwellers?
Social inequality
Differences based on age, ethnicity, gender, religion, education and wealth exist in
all societies. Because social differences vary from place to place, we can call them
spatial inequalities.
Quality of life = the extent to which people’s needs and desires (social,
psychological and physical) are met.
3
A set of process leading to a ‘shrinking world’ caused by reductions in the relative distances between places
, Standard of living = the ability to access services and goods including basics
such as food, water, clothing, housing, and personal mobility.
Income and wealth are significant factors in determining standard of living and
quality of life but a higher income doesn’t always lead to improved quality of life.
Longer hours at work, migration away from family and poor air quality are examples
of factors that can lead to a higher income and standard of living but decrease the
quality of life of an individual.
When social inequalities lead to great differences between groups of people, the
term deprivation is used to refer to a context when quality of life and standard of
living is low. Poverty is not having enough money to support a decent standard of
living but deprivation refers to a general lack of resources and opportunities. The
cycle of deprivation goes from poverty to poor living conditions, ill health, poor
education, and poor skills which leads to further poverty.
The UK government uses an Index of Multiple Deprivation to assess relative levels of
deprivation. This takes in to account:
Income – defining a level of absolute poverty where below this level of
income a person cannot afford to purchase food and other non-food
essentials. The Gini coefficient can be used to measure levels of income
inequality within countries. Lower value = more equal distribution.
Employment – whether a household has someone who is in receipt of regular
income has a profound impact on standard of living and quality of life.
Health – access to health care and level of ill health are closely associated
with social inequality. Association between ill health and poverty is very
strong.
Education – contrast in literacy levels give an indication of inequality in
education. For example, there are great inequalities between literacy rates for
males and females which show social inequality.
Access to housing – being able to afford accommodation of an adequate
standard is closely related to income. At all scales social inequality is evident
in the type and quality of housing people occupy. Indicated by housing tenure
(how people pay to live in their home).
Spatial patterns of social inequality
There are inequalities between urban and rural areas and also contrasts at an intra-
urban scale. It is the interaction of several factors that cause spatial patterns of
inequality.
Low income is linked to all factors such as ill health, lower educational attainment,
and poor access to housing and services. The lack of formal qualifications and low
skill sets are major obstacles to raising income and thereby reducing social
inequality.
