Categories of Place (AQA A-Level Geography): Revision Notes
Categories of place
Understanding place and belonging
The concept of 'place' goes beyond simple location. People, activities and events can be described as being 'in place' or 'out of place'. This distinction shapes our understanding of who belongs where.
For instance, a businessperson might feel perfectly comfortable in Canary Wharf, London, whilst a homeless person may not. The question becomes: if certain people feel 'out of place', why is this happening and who has created this feeling of exclusion?
The politics of place and insiders vs outsiders
Immigration has become a major focus in UK politics and other countries. Understanding how places create 'insiders' and 'outsiders' is therefore increasingly important.
The phrase 'a place for everything and everything in its place' suggests a particular ordering of the world. Cultural geographer Tim Cresswell argues that people, things and practices become strongly linked to particular places. When these links are broken, or when people act 'out of place', they are often seen as having committed something wrong.
Examples of people historically treated as outsiders include:
- Graffiti artists marking historic buildings
- People littering in areas of outstanding beauty
- Travellers and protestors
- Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people
- Those who don't conform to expected behaviours for their place
Personal characteristics and perception of place
A person's perception of place is shaped by multiple personal factors:
Gender, race and ethnicity: Historical gender roles associated specific places with men or women. For example, 'a woman's place is in the home' was a common stereotypical view in the early to mid-twentieth century, which affected which places women felt comfortable occupying.
Religious Significance and Place Perception
Mecca in Saudi Arabia demonstrates how religion shapes perception of place. For Muslims, Mecca is the most holy religious site, creating a deep spiritual connection to the place. However, non-Muslims view it more as a historical and cultural place, showing how the same location can have vastly different meanings based on personal characteristics.
Socio-economic status: Expected behaviours and norms in expensive or exclusive hotels and restaurants may make people from disadvantaged backgrounds feel alienated. These feelings may be strengthened by exclusionary rules such as dress codes, reinforcing negative perceptions.
Political views: Individual political beliefs influence how people perceive and interact with places.
Sexuality: This can significantly affect how comfortable or welcome a person feels in different locations.
For people familiar with the routines, rituals and traditions of a place, they will feel welcomed and thoroughly 'in-place'.
Changing experiences of place
Our experiences and perceptions of place change as we age. The same excitement you felt visiting a local playground as a child may not be present when you return as an adult.
Migration and the 'out of place' narrative
Migrants are often described as being 'out of place'. The deaths of migrants in the Mediterranean have highlighted the desperate plight of hundreds of thousands trying to escape conflict and reach a 'better life' in Europe. However, as people-without-place, refugees present a crisis for state power.
In the UK and other European countries, media reports and anti-migration groups have used metaphors associated with water, blood and disease to describe the influx of refugees. This negative terminology has invariably meant that the presence of migrants has been met with great resistance and calls from some to protect 'our place' and 'our culture' against people who do not 'belong' here.
Categories of place
Places can be categorised in different ways depending on our relationship with them. Two key distinctions help us understand these relationships.
Near places and far places
The terms 'near' and 'far' have several potential meanings when discussing place:
Geographical distance: They could refer to the physical distance between places. However, in our globalised world with extensive travel and media access, geographically 'near' places do not automatically feel more familiar.
Emotional connection: Equally important is the emotional connection with a particular place and how comfortable a person feels within it. Some places feel more familiar than others, partly due to personal experience but also because of frequent representational exposure through media and culture.
The key point is that geographically 'near' places do not automatically foster identities of familiarity and belonging. With globalised culture, travel and media, far-off places are not automatically strange, uncomfortable and different.
Experienced places and media places
This distinction relates to how we come to know places:
Experienced places are those places that a person has spent time in, gaining direct, first-hand knowledge.
Media places are those that the person has only read about or seen on film, television or online, without direct experience.
The 'reality' of a place can be vastly different from the version presented by the media. This is most clearly seen through the portrayal of rural and urban places.
Media representation of places
Media representations often create stereotypical images that don't reflect reality. This affects how we perceive both rural and urban environments.
Media portrayal of rural living
For a long time, the countryside in the UK has been portrayed as 'idyllic'. Rural living has been stereotyped as involving a happy, healthy and close-knit community experiencing few of the problems associated with urban life.
Geographer Paul Cloke has extensively researched rurality. He argues that magazines such as Country Life, television programmes like Doc Martin, and children's books such as Postman Pat seek to reinforce nostalgic images of the countryside.
Problems hidden by stereotypical rural images:
The idyllic image put forward by media and advertising companies conceals numerous problems that have disadvantaged low-income households in rural areas:
- Unemployment and underemployment
- Scarce availability of affordable housing
- Reduction in public transport services
- Rural homelessness
Media portrayal of city living
In contrast, cities are often stereotyped negatively. Economic and social deprivation, homelessness, crime, vandalism and pollution are just some of the images routinely ascribed to British cities by the media.
It is true that some of these problems are worse in urban areas. However, it is wrong to assume that all cities are the same. Successful regeneration of urban areas has made city-living far more attractive in recent decades.
Factors contributing to the character of places
Endogenous factors
The character of a place refers to the physical and human features that help distinguish it from another place. This character may be strongly linked to the natural environment, but more often it is a combination of natural and cultural features in the landscape. It generally includes the people who occupy the place. These characteristics are known as endogenous factors.
Endogenous factors – In the context of place, this refers to the characteristics of the place itself or factors which have originated internally. This would include aspects such as location, physical geography, land use and social and economic characteristics such as population size and employment rates.
Memory aid: Think of ENDO = IN – ENDOgenous factors come from withIN the place.
Endogenous factors originate internally and may include aspects of the site or land on which the place is built, such as height, relief, drainage, soil type, geology and the availability of resources. They also include the demographic and economic characteristics of the area, as well as aspects of the built environment and infrastructure.
Components of Endogenous Factors
Endogenous factors encompass a wide range of internal characteristics:
- Physical geography: Relief, altitude, aspect, drainage, soil and rock type
- Demographic factors: Population size and structure (age and gender), ethnicity
- Location: Whether urban or rural, proximity to other settlements, main roads or motorways, physical features such as rivers and the coast
- The built environment: Land use, age and type of housing, building density, building materials
- Socio-economic factors: Employment opportunities, amenities, educational attainment and opportunities, income, health, crime rates, local clubs and societies
- Cultural factors: Heritage, religion, language
- Mobility factors: Mobility for work and leisure pursuits
- Political factors: The role and strength of local councils and/or resident groups
As this list shows, there is clearly a wide range of factors which affect the character of places.
Exogenous factors
Exogenous factors – This refers to the relationship of one place with other places and the external factors which affect this. The demographic, socio-economic and cultural characteristics of a place are shaped by shifting flows of people, resources, money and investment.
Memory aid: Think of EXO = EXIT – EXOgenous factors come from EXternal sources (exit the place).
Exogenous factors are external influences that shape a place through its connections and relationships with other locations. These include flows of people (migration, tourism), resources (raw materials, goods), money (investment, trade) and investment (business development, infrastructure projects).
Infrastructure
Infrastructure – Infrastructure relates to the services considered essential to enable or enhance living conditions. These primarily consist of transport (roads, railways, canals, and/or airports), communications infrastructure (broadband and phone networks) and services such as water supply, sewers and electrical grids. They may also include infrastructure such as the local education system, healthcare provision, local government and law enforcement, as well as emergency services.
Infrastructure is a crucial component of both endogenous factors (as part of the built environment) and can be influenced by exogenous factors (through external investment and development). Good infrastructure enhances the character and functionality of a place, making it more attractive to residents and businesses.
Diaspora – A group of people with a similar heritage or homeland who have settled elsewhere in the world.
Key Points to Remember:
- Places can make people feel 'in place' or 'out of place', creating insiders and outsiders based on personal characteristics like gender, race, religion and socio-economic status.
- Near and far places refer to both geographical distance and emotional connection – globalisation means nearby places aren't automatically more familiar.
- Experienced places are known through direct contact, whilst media places are known only through representations, which can differ greatly from reality.
- Endogenous factors are internal characteristics of a place (physical geography, demographics, built environment), whilst exogenous factors are external relationships and flows.
- Media representations often create stereotypes – rural areas portrayed as idyllic, urban areas as problematic – which don't reflect the complex reality of these places.