Full, detailed, A* level notes about the Changing Places topic in the Geography A Level. Case studies included. Clear and concise notes to help you build knowledge on the topic and achieve higher grades. Send me a message if you have any questions about what is in the document!
Changing Places Revision
The Concept of Place ● The Character of Places ● Changing Places-
Shifting Flows ● Changing Places ● Meaning and Representation of Place
● Place Study Posters
The Concept of Place
Place
A place can be:
● The location- on a map, including the human and physical characteristics,
and the flows in and out)
● The sense of place- the emotional meaning a person has to a place
Except from physical location, these can all change:
Physical characteristics may change short term due to a volcanic eruption or
long term due to river migration
Human characteristics may change short term from migration or long term
through generations dying
Flows may change short term due to a TNC closing down a factory or long term
due to gradually changing ideas towards veganism
Sense of place may change short term due to war or long term if someone
returns to their childhood home as an adult
Places are important because:
● People feel connected to a place due to their lived experience e.g. playing
in a park every day after school may connect you to that park, Disneyland
● It relates to an aspect of a person's life e.g. an office will be important to
you if you work in it 40 hours a week- a significant portion of your life
● The connections you make there form your identity. Yi-Fu Tuan suggested
that the quality of our experiences in a place influences our emotions so
strongly that it can affect our identity. This sense of belonging we may
develop for a place may materialise itself into localism or nationalism.
Localism can be seen in the example of the Totnes pound. To combat the forces
of globalisation, the council of Totnes, Devon created a new currency, the
“Totnes Pound” which could only be used in local, independent shops therefore
keeping it circulating within. This ran successfully for 12 years, switching
spending to local businesses and is an example of how the importance of people
linking their identity with “place” is being used as a political symbol to fight
against capitalism.
Some TNCs are even cashing in on the importance of place to someone’s
identity as Mcdonald's does not sell pork in Muslim countries and doesn’t sell
beef in Hindu countries. This is known as “glocalisation”.
, Insider and Outsider
An insider to a place will feel familiar with the place and share cultural values
usually because they have spent time there and have developed their sense of
place through the lived experiences there e.g. a long-term resident of Micklegate
who regularly participates in street parties
An outsider to a place will not feel a sense of belonging, share the same cultural
values and may feel unwelcome often because they haven’t spent much time
there or because they may be excluded from activities e.g. a tourist visiting
Bishopthorpe Road during a street party, or a homeless person finding
anti-homeless spikes in the place where they sleep
These can change because of:
● Personal factors- as you get older in a place, you may feel more connected
there. Someone may feel like an outsider in a mosque if they were atheist,
but if they converted to Islam, they may feel like an insider there e.g. in
2011 it was estimated that 25,000 people had converted to Islam, so in a
Muslim-based community like Spitalfields, this is likely. If someone
changes their gender, they may feel like an outsider in places where this is
not allowed.
● External factors- Those living in a place for a long time, may begin to feel
like an outsider due to gentrification e.g. new establishments like The
Residence will bring an influx of wealthier people which may make those
who are poorer living nearby feel like outsiders.
Experienced V Media Places and Near V Far Places
Experienced places are places where people have been to and spent time in and
their sense of that place is influenced by their visitation there. You are most likely
to feel like an insider here e.g. if you have experienced and spent time in New
York, you may have a strong negative emotional attachment as it was frantically
busy and smelt bad
Media places are places people have not been to, but have created a sense of
place through their depiction in the media (TV, film, music, books etc.) You may
feel like an outsider in these places- particularly when you are first introduced to
the piece of media e.g. if you have only experienced New York through the film
Home Alone 2, your emotional attachment may be more positive as it is filmed
as a beautiful city with pretty lights and grand skyscrapers, reading the book
Brick Lane may make you consider Spitalfields to be heavily deprived and
uneducated when 44.4% have a level 4 qualification or above and there are
houses reaching costs over £2 million.
Through TV shows like Doc Martin and Poldark, and holiday brochures, Cornwall
may seem like a happy, healthy place with a close-knit community and few of
the problems urban cities have to deal with. However, in reality, 90% of
neighbourhoods are more deprived of a quality living environment than the rest
of the UK, 210 people die unnecessarily from the cold every year and a further
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