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How do we understand place? - Coggle Diagram
How do we understand place?
Place
Place has 2 things - location and meaning.
Location = A position in an abstract space.
Meaning = At an individual level - personal and subjective. At a social or cultural level - shared / common meanings
Sub-categories that form an identity of place.
Physical Geography
Altitude
Slope angle
Drainage
Geology
Aspecy
Built Environment
Age + styles of buildings
Building materials
Density of housing
Road pattern / layout
Demography
Age of inhabitants
Gender
Ethnicity
Cultural
Religion
Local traditions
Local clubs
Societies
Political
National Government
Local Government
Regional Goverment
Housing
Socio-Economic
Employment
Income
Education
Family status
Geographical meanings to Place
Creswell (2008) explain place as 'a meaningful segment of geographical space.'
Place is understood as a geographical focus point (nexus) of connections and linkages including flows of people, ideas, information and wealth that define a geographical location.
Places are dynamic, changing both in terms of their material human and physical geographies but also the meanings associated with them. Therefore, all places are changing places
What is Space?
Space has location but no meaning. We can put a location / grid reference here, but does not have any meaning to us individually as we do not know it.
Tuan (1977) - explains 'space is given by the ability to move, space implies freedom
Space exists between places and does not have meanings that places do. Tuan stated that, 'spaces are more abstract than places.'
Types of Space Definitions
Public Space = a social space that is generally open + accessible to people. e.g. Roads, public squares, parks, beaches.
Concrete Space = The real world or environment. This space is characterised by lived experiences.
Personal Space = an area immediately surrounding the individual in which the majority of their interactions with others take place.
Territoriality = A term associated with nonverbal communication that refers to how people use space to communicate ownership or occupancy of areas and possesions.
Private Space = a geographical environment that is restricted in its occupancy and use. This space is not open to all members of the public. e.g. home
Abstract Space = a hypothetical space characterised by equal and consistent properties; a geographic space that is completely homogeneous. This concept is useful for modelling or analysing spatial activity.
Perception
Is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the environment.
Factors influencing Perceptions
G = gender
R = religion
A = age
S = sexuality
P = role performed
Globalisation
Is the growing intergration and interdependance of people's lives in complex process with economic, social (cultural), political and environmental components.
In terms of sense of place, it is a set force that are changing the ways in which people experience and understand places, both familiar and unfamiliar.