(2016 New Curric)Human Geography - Changing Places (Autumn Term Y12)

Changing Places

Introduction to topic

Key Ideas:

• The concept of place and the importance of place in human life and experience
• Insider and outsider perspectives on place; categories of place: near and far, experienced and media places.

Outcomes:

• Achieve an overview of the concept of place. 
• Students will learn that place is more than just a location but also incorporates the notions of locale and sense of place.  
• Students will understand the terms ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ in relation to place and the different categories of place.
• Students understand the difference between sense of place and perception of place.

Activity:

(Activity Sheet for tasks A and B - HERE)

A. Group/small group discussions followed by feedback -

1. What is place and what does it mean to different people?
2. What is the difference between space and place?
3. Why does place matter?

B. You decide:
Using the photographs of a range of places (local-global scale) - suggest how different places mean different things to different people... Steps:

• Start by discussing what YOU know of each image, then...
• Suggest to types of people that may have different views about the places. 
• Explain the differing meanings of each place to the people you have identified.

Feedback...

How do people develop a sense of place?

(This can be linked to the notions of experienced place and near place)...

Activity:

1. Think of a place special to you... write down a number of words to describe your feelings about that place (A4/3 plain paper). If you choose, you can describe a few of your experiences there.
2. In pairs or groups, compare your work.

• Are they positive/negative?
• Does everyone feel the same way?
• If not, why not?
• How might their different personal experiences affect the way they feel about it?
• How might factors such as gender, ethnicity etc affect feelings?
• Produce a ‘Wordle’ using the terms from 1. above - Link to "Wordle" - HERE

Alternative Activity:

Produce, with a partner or small team, a local ‘sense of place toolkit’ to highlight what is special about our local area (See Morecambe Bay example - HERE)


Repeat the above exercise/s for a media place (somewhere you have not visited).
How would they describe it?
How have you developed feelings/perceptions about this place?

Home Research:

Research the three theoretical approaches to studying place:

1. Descriptive approach
2. Social constructionist approach
3. Phenomenological approach

i.e. What do the terms mean/involve in the Geography of Place?

CW 12th September 2016

Review of HW from last session... i.e.

Home Research:

Research the three theoretical approaches to studying place:

1. Descriptive approach
2. Social constructionist approach
3. Phenomenological approach

i.e. What do the terms mean/involve in the Geography of Place?

What do we mean by "Place"?

The Wordle... - HERE

happy relaxing fun family beauty calm relaxing stress-free thoughtful serene calm calm relaxing fun enjoyable holiday safe joyful stressful happy relaxing calm family happy laughter celebratory welcoming christening emotional joyous Christmas Easter tearful upset nostalgic reminiscent lonely peaceful comfort consoling comfort support success failure safe safe comfort familiar friendly belonging memories displays success failure pride holiday relax relax serene peaceful enjoy enjoy enjoy enjoy hot hot hot hot sunny comfort experience fun fun stunning scenery beach familiar familiar home windy comfort welcome noisy expensive clean safe safe safe homely friendly clean safe contrast family

Worditout - https://worditout.com/discover-word-clouds. Link - HERE

Notes:
We use the term place often within the study of Geography. Place can be seen as a definite location or it may refer to the description of the human and physical characteristics of a particular location.

Place differs from the notion of space as the latter is essentially an abstract notion, but places have meaning to people. Space becomes place when we get to know it better... 

For many people, the most familiar example of place is their home as it is where they feel most attached and can be themselves. However, place is more than just location. Academic Geographers increasingly discuss the different aspects of place - the so-called multidimensionality of place. This may include subjective elements such a emotional responses to place, or film, photography, art and media representations of place. 

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzi conveys an emotional response to place when she compares life in Birmingham to that in her homeland of the Swat Valley in Pakistan.

"When I stand in front of my window and look out, I see tall buildings, long roads full of vehicles moving in orderly lines, neat green hedges and lawns and tidy pavements to walk on. I close my eyes and for a moment I am back in my valley - the high snow-topped mountains, green waving field and fresh blue rivers - and my heart smiles when it looks at the people of Swat". 

Prologue, I am Malala

Malala refers to two contrasting places above. As part of this topic you will be expected to investigate two places, one local and one distant.

As Geographers, we traditionally focus on the description of place and its locality using maps and statistics but a more accurate reading and writing of a place must also include experience of place, whether through direct interpretation or indirect representation. So, we might begin to think of place as the product of Location + Meaning.

In this unit of study you will learn about the meanings and ways in which place is represented, how people perceive, engage with and form attachments to places, the character of places and how this can change over time, how external agencies seek to improve perceptions of place.

Note: Local Project (See Anderson/Understanding Cultural Geog

HW/Flipped Learning:

Read the following documents... make margin notes of questions, ideas or what you consider to be key points:

Source 1 - HERE
Source 2 - HERE

                                                                                                                                  


Reference: 
http://www.spatialmanifesto.com/understanding-cultural-geography

CW                                       15th September 2016

Intro Slides re. "Meaning of Place" - HERE

Title: The Nature and Importance of Places - The concept of place.

Key Questions:
How do we define place?
How do we distinguish place from location?

For most of us, our home is likely to be the first place we think of... it is where we have our possessions and a stock of memories. It is the place we know best. The place where you live is a particular place. However, the meaning of the term place is contested between different academic disciplines. For planners it is often the built environment; artists may endeavour to evoke place in their paintings and writings; philosophers may view place as a way of being -in-the-world. 

For Geographers, though, there are broadly three aspects to place:

Location - "Where" a place is, for example, as defined by map coordinates.
Locale - Unlike location, Locale takes into account the effect that people have on their setting. In terms of locale, a place is shaped by the people, cultures and customs within it.
Sense of place - Refers to the subjective and emotional attachment people have to a place. Thus it may be completely different when viewed from another person's perspective.


(Above narrative introduced already... HW set (Feedback due)

Activity to exemplify the definitions of place... Activity sheet and sources - HERE









Exemplification:
Although, traditionally for Geographers, location is the starting point, place is recognised as more than just points on a map. To obtain a fuller understanding of place, we must begin to take into account the remaining two definitions (Locale and Sense of Place). 

Example... the town of Glastonbury, in Somerset...


Location:
"Where" a place is, for example, as defined by map coordinates. 


Glastonbury is in the English county of Somerset some 37 km South of Bristol. Its Latitude is 51.1456 North and Longitude is 2.7144 West (See map below)




Locale:
Locale takes into account the effect that people have on their setting. In terms of locale, a place is shaped by the people, cultures and customs within it. 
Glastonbury is unique and possesses a number of visitor attractions such as Glastonbury Abbey and the Tor (See photo below).



The Visit Britain website describes it as:

"alive with a history that sits comfortably alongside colourful myth and legend. The Abbey was an early centre of pilgrimage and many believe King Arthur is buried amid the ruins. It is said that a young Christ also visited Glastonbury and that the Holy Grail is hidden nearby. Quirky independent shops abound selling everything from healing crystals to cakes."


The National Trust describes Glastonbury Tor as being "one of the most spiritual sites in the country. Its pagan beliefs are still very much celebrated. It's a beautiful place to walk, unwind and relax".

Sense of Place:

The subjective and emotional attachment people have to a place. Thus it may be completely different when viewed from another person's perspective. 
Glastonbury is a place of great spiritual importance for people interested in paganism, religious connections or the King Arthur affiliation. For many others, Glastonbury evokes emotions about the internationally renowned music festival.





Summary:

Key Vocab:

Locale - The place where something happens or is set, or that has particular events associated with it. 

Location - Where a place is. 

Perception of place - How place is viewed or regarded by people. This may be influenced by media representation or personal experience. 

Place - Defined as a location with meaning. Places can be meaningful to individuals in ways that are personal or subjective. Places can also be meaningful at a social or cultural level and these meanings may be shared by different groups of people. 

Placemaking - The deliberate shaping of an environment to facilitate social interaction and improve a community's quality of life. 

Sense of place - Refers to the subjective and emotional attachment people have to a place. People develop a "sense of place" through experience and knowledge of a particular area.



Theoretical approaches to place
The nature and meaning of place has been debated in geography, but there are three main approaches into which the study of place is divided...

A descriptive approach is the idea that the world comprises a set of places each of which can be studied and is distinct. 

A social constructionist approach sees place as a product of a set of specific social processes occurring at a particular time e.g. Trafalgar Square in London was built to commemorate the British naval victory over the French and Spanish fleets in 1805. As such it could be viewed in a social constructionist approach as a place of empire and colonialism. 

A phenomenological approach is interested in how an individual person experiences place. This recognises a highly personal relationship between place and person.


(Ref. work of Yi-Fu Tuan and Edward Relph)



Assignment.

• This assignment may be completed in pairs or individually. 
• Your findings/response must be written and illustrated.
• If you use secondary sources, these must be credited to the author/publisher.

a. Using Trafalgar Square (or your local area) as an example, explain how it can be seen as conforming to all three definitions of Place (Location, Locale and Sense of Place)

b. Explain why it is important to recognise the multidimensionality of "Place"

Due date: 22nd Sep 2016






                                                                                                            

CW/12Gg                            19th September 2016

Title:
How can a place conform to three definitions of place?

Three definitions?

Feedback from Assignment (during group feedback you should make notes... especially concerning how information is being collected):

a. Using Trafalgar Square (or your local area) as an example, explain how it can be seen as conforming to all three definitions of Place (Location, Locale and Sense of Place)

b. Explain why it is important to recognise the multidimensionality of "Place"


Due date: 22nd Sep 2016

• Chosen place?
• Primary or secondary research?
• Initial findings/observations?
• Research methodology... how have you decided to collect info/evidence?
• Next steps?

Questions/observations?

NL - Presentations - 22nd Sept 2016









CW/12Gg                           26th September 2016



Completion of presentations re. "How can place conform to the three definitions of place?"



Title: 
Why is Place Important and what factors influence the Character of Places?


Notes re. why place is important (see google doc) - HERE

Notes re. Types of Place and the Factors influencing the Character of Places (google doc)- HERE

Activities on the documents.






CW/12Gg                           3rd October 2016




15 Mark Essay Title: 
How and Why do different groups of people experience and perceive places differently?

Due Date: 10th October (Next Monday... see also feedback from lesson work below!)

Today's Lesson - Practical:
(This is not preparation specifically for the above essay... it is stand-alone work although your findings may be used/referenced in your essay)

In pairs, carry out a walking tour of Hanwell. 

1. Record your individual feelings and observations as you walk through different areas.
2. Back in class, discuss the reasons why individual students in your group experience places in different ways.
3. Also record any evidence that you can find of Globalisation of Place.

Feedback and discussion - Next Monday (10th October).

Route to follow:

CW/12Gg                           10th October 2016




15 Mark Essay Due today: 
How and Why do different groups of people experience and perceive places differently?

Mo T - Shared
Joe - Shared
Chirag - Shared




Title:
How do we use the survey data we have collected?

Agreed methodology:
1. Survey route is divided into 7 sections (A to G).
2. The records made by each pair are assigned and recorded into route section categories (Names of collectors are included for later discussion).
3. Groups/pairs take one set of records each and produce a "wordle" type presentation to carry out initial analyses... for NL

Worditout - https://worditout.com/discover-word-clouds. Link - HERE

Following Lesson:

Study/discuss and analyse the word cloud.
Seek explanations of the views (common and different... Can we identify factors that may influence the perspectives expressed? You will need to "interview" each other... can you find out why their views are similar of different?)


SoW:
Students can discuss the range of factors that influence perception of place and sense of place.

Task:
With reference to your local area field work, discuss the ways in which people's perceptions of our local area differ. Suggest reasons for the differences.



How do people around the world see the British? - Article HERE

How do Londoners percieve different regions in the city? - HERE


Attachment, Home and Identity.The depth of feeling (attachment) we have for a place is influenced by the depth of knowledge and understanding of it... this attachment increases with age. 

However, research reveals that our attachment to a place is influenced by the quality or intensity of experience we have there. So, the more enjoyable the experience or the greater degree to which we feel safe in a place (where all our needs are met - think about the needs of a child), the more attached we feel to it. It becomes home.

our sense of place, the meaning that we give to a location, can be so strong that it features as a central part of our identity. We can see that the people in the illustration above right strongly identify with different places. Notice how the scale of places varies from regional (Yorkshire) to continental (Europe).

Consider the possibility that all the statements could have been made by the same person... Perhaps, then, this person thinks of their identity in layers, or as having a number of facets that derive from distinct aspects of their family history, upbringing and experience.

Questions:
1. What is the relationship between our identity and our place of birth or homeland?
2. 
a) Have you ever felt like an outsider? Where was this?
b) How did you feel excluded?

HW: Complete the group feedback of findings from field work - HERE


CW                       17th October 2016
Changing identities and exclusion

Ref doc HERE

Gone through to representation in National Pks. Students to read remainder independently and answer Qs 3, 4, 5 and 6 - To review on 20th

Test Question - Identity, social and spatial exclusion - HERE

Changing Places: Relationships and Connections - HERE

Holiday Reading (with activities to complete and Hand In after break) - 

H.O. Categories of place (Activities 1 to 5 + "stretch yourself"):

1. What is meant by the term "other" in the section of reading entitled "Far Places and Near Places".
2. Can you think of examples of groups or organisations working to break down social, cultural or economic barriers that separate places and people into "us" and "them"?
3. Working with someone who has visited the same place as you... 
a) Compare your experiences of this place in terms of your different senses: what you saw, heard, smelt, touched and tasted.
b) How do your memories differ?
4. Read the extracts from the novel Us... a) The author only visited one of these places. Which do you think it was? Explain your answer.
b) Why is the place-meaning we attach to a place we have visited in person different to somewhere we have only "visited" online?
5. Make a list of different media images of places that you have been exposed to today.

Stretch:
Find out about "Orientalism", a theory proposed by Edward Said. Why and how did Europeans define themselves as different from the "East"? The Orient has long been viewed as exotic, decadent and corrupt. What actions has this view been used to justify in regions like North Africa and Asia?

What is Orientalism? - HERE


H.O. What shapes the character of places? (Activities 1 to 5 + "Stretch yourself")
(Material from sample release material (un-published text)

Activities:
1. Describe two ways in which the local geology of an area can affect the character of place.
2. Study fig.5. Aside from its geology, what other aspects of a place's physical geography contribute to its character? Make a list.
3. "The endogenous factors that shape a place include its demographic characteristics". Comment on this statement.
4. Study fig 4.
a) Compare the demographic character of Hathersage and Eyam with that of  Sinfin, using only Fig 4. (You might also refer to the differences between these places and England as a whole).
b) What can you infer from the home ownership data about  the age make-up of these two wards in Derbyshire? Check your answering the Office for National Statistics" Neighbourhood Statistics website.
5. Search the www for the "Office of National Statistics" quiz "How well do you know your area?". Test your knowledge of the demographic make-up of your community. Then, find out more about your place (eg your "ward") at ww.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk where you can also produce bespoke choropleth maps. Enter your postcode and the area of study (eg ward). Then choose from the many datasets available to create a map. You can change colours and the number of divisions to ensure the map presents this quantitative data effectively.

Feedback from "Sense of Place, identity and social and spatial exclusion" questions - 

National Gallery view of the Hay Wain... look at the details! What do the elements represent in terms of Englishness?



.................................................................................................................................



CW                 Date:  

Title:
The Dynamics of Change
















Read the material - HERE

Discuss and complete the activities.



Feedback from Half Term:
See questions above in BLUE Italic
ONS HERE
Local Statistics HERE






CW                 Date:  

Title:
The Management and manipulation of place-meanings

Use sample (uncorrected) materials from AQA:
Activities pp 27 (Re. the Llandudno and Alice Liddell case studies)



CW                 Date:  17th November 2016

Title:
Place Study - Carpenter's Estate

Read through source

Impressions?

• Describe perceptions/impressions of the area

Close view of photo/map sources. Find origin and corroborating points and features.

Activities:
1. Describe the main characteristics of the Stratford area in the 1930s as shown in fig 8.13 (oblique areal photo) 

2. Having described the character of the area in the 1930s... it is possible to compare it with 1860s Stratford... and thus say how Stratford has changes. 

Complete this description for HW.



CW                 Date:  18th November 2016

Title:

Place Study - Carpenter's Estate

Feedback re. HW task... 

3. Now, looking at map 8.14b... make a list of the evidence for regeneration of the area... can you categorise the things that you spot ("add a tag") eg cultural, economic/industrial, transport infrastructure etc

Feedback:

How could we "Comment" on our observations? 

Command Word - 
Comment: "Make a statement that arises from a factual point, adding an opinion or an interpretation..."

e.g. 
Statement of fact (from observation):
Development of tertiary industry in the area such as the Westfield Shopping Centre.

Comment: 
This reflects the changing emphasis on the tertiary sector of industry in the UK as the population has grown, become more wealthy (able to afford more services and goods) and as traditional manufacturing industry has declined (partly as a result of foreign competition). The economy of the Stratford area was, in the past, based on manufacturing and the local population would likely have been employed in the nearby works and transport industries. The decline of these (for the reasons given above) left the area more deprived and run down as unemployment rose and wages were low. Regeneration has included the development of large retail centres that attract people from a wide area and which thus provide new job opportunities,,, including for women who play a larger role in the payed/formal economy.

The success of centres like Westfield also depends on the accessibility of the site... in the regeneration, this has been improved too... (Leading on to the next fact/observation ie about improved transport infrastructure)...

HW - 
1. Using the brainstorm/list of regenerative elements evident in the 2016 map... make a comment about two or three of the items (See above examples).
2. Re-read the Carpenters Estate section of the source and make a list of reasons why Developers were keen to regenerate the estate.


CW                 Date:  21st November 2016

Title:


Place Study - Carpenter's Estate (Continued)

Using the table provided in the pack about London Boroughs... Attempt questions 1 to 6 inclusive on pp 338.


HW:

1. Collect place information about your local area to illustrate the changes that have affected it up to the present.
 (Hint: use the models previously provided eg Eckersley, Deptford, Carpenters Estate).

HW 2. Investigate and collate data that compares your local area statistically to the UK and to London (ref the Eckersley example)... ONS web site and/or Census data.


Access to London Boroughs Poverty data - HERE
For use in the Chi2 calculations.

Compare your result with the Critical Values table... at what degree of freedom (df) does the Chi Squared result suggest that your poverty data shows a genuine pattern (ie Whether your Hypothesis is true or false).




CW                 Date:  1st December 2016

Title:
Local Area Study


Content Ideas?










Wikipedia - HERE
Poverty Indicators - HERE
Bealondoner.com - HERE
ONS Neighbourhood statistics - HERE











CW                 Date:  

Title:
Analysing different representations

Source Doc and activities - HERE









19th January 2017


Feedback from Changing Places and Field Work examination - January 2017 - HERE

Results spread sheet - HERE

















Review of course coverage:

3.2.1 Changing places

This section of our specification focuses on people's engagement with places, their experience of them and the qualities they ascribe to them, all of which are of fundamental importance in their lives. Students acknowledge this importance and engage with how places are known and experienced, how their character is appreciated, the factors and processes which impact upon places and how they change and develop over time. Through developing this knowledge, students will gain understanding of the way in which their own lives and those of others are affected by continuity and change in the nature of places which are of fundamental importance in their lives.

Study of the content must be embedded in two contrasting places, one to be local. The local place may be a locality, neighbourhood or small community either urban or rural. A contrasting place is likely to be distant – it could be in the same country or a different country but it must show significant contrast in terms of economic development and/or population density and/or cultural background and/or systems of political and economic organisation.

The place studies complement the requirement to embed the study of content in two contrasting places. Study of this section offers particular opportunities to exercise and develop qualitative (and quantitative) investigative techniques and practice-related observation, measurement and various mapping skills, together with data manipulation and statistical skills including those associated with and arising from fieldwork.

3.2.1.1 The nature and importance of places

The concept of place and the importance of place in human life and experience.

Insider and outsider perspectives on place.

Categories of place:

• near places and far places
• experienced places and media places.

Factors contributing to the character of places:

• Endogenous: location, topography, physical geography, land use, built environment and infrastructure, demographic and economic characteristics.
• Exogenous: relationships with other places.

3.2.1.2 Changing places – relationships, connections, meaning and representation

In relation to the local place within which students live or study and then at least one further contrasting place and encompassing local, regional, national, international and global scales:

• the ways in which the following factors: relationships and connections, meaning and representation, affect continuity and change in the nature of places and our understanding of place

and

• the ways in which students’ own lives and those of others are affected by continuity and change in the nature of places and our understanding of place.

3.2.1.2.1 Relationships and connections

The impact of relationships and connections on people and place with a particular focus on:

either

changing demographic and cultural characteristics

or

economic change and social inequalities.

• How the demographic, socio-economic and cultural characteristics of places are shaped by shifting flows of people, resources, money and investment, and ideas at all scales from local to global.
• The characteristics and impacts of external forces operating at different scales from local to global, including either government policies or the decisions of multinational corporations or the impacts of international or global institutions.
• How past and present connections, within and beyond localities, shape places and embed them in the regional, national, international and global scales.

3.2.1.2.2 Meaning and representation

The importance of the meanings and representations attached to places by people with a particular focus on people's lived experience of place in the past and at present.

• How humans perceive, engage with and form attachments to places and how they present and represent the world to others, including the way in which everyday place meanings are bound up with different identities, perspectives and experiences.
• How external agencies, including government, corporate bodies and community or local groups make attempts to influence or create specific place-meanings and thereby shape the actions and behaviours of individuals, groups, businesses and institutions.
• How places may be represented in a variety of different forms such as advertising copy, tourist agency material, local art exhibitions in diverse media (eg film, photography, art, story, song etc) that often give contrasting images to that presented formally or statistically such as cartography and census data.
• How both past and present processes of development can be seen to influence the social and economic characteristics of places and so be implicit in present meanings

3.2.1.2.2 Meaning and representation

The importance of the meanings and representations attached to places by people with a particular focus on people's lived experience of place in the past and at present.

• How humans perceive, engage with and form attachments to places and how they present and represent the world to others, including the way in which everyday place meanings are bound up with different identities, perspectives and experiences.
• How external agencies, including government, corporate bodies and community or local groups make attempts to influence or create specific place-meanings and thereby shape the actions and behaviours of individuals, groups, businesses and institutions.
• How places may be represented in a variety of different forms such as advertising copy, tourist agency material, local art exhibitions in diverse media (eg film, photography, art, story, song etc) that often give contrasting images to that presented formally or statistically such as cartography and census data.
• How both past and present processes of development can be seen to influence the social and economic characteristics of places and so be implicit in present meanings.

3.2.1.3 Quantitative and qualitative skills

Students must engage with quantitative and qualitative approaches across the theme as a whole. Quantitative data, including the use of geospatial data, must be used to investigate and present place characteristics, particular weight must be given to qualitative approaches involved in representing place, and to analysing critically the impacts of different media on place meanings and perceptions. The use of different types of data should allow the development of critical perspectives on the data categories and approaches.

3.2.1.4 Place studies

Local place study exploring the developing character of a place local to the home or study centre.

Contrasting place study exploring the developing character of a contrasting and distant place.

Place studies must apply the knowledge acquired through engagement with prescribed specification content and thereby further enhance understanding of the way students' own lives and those of others are affected by continuity and change in the nature of places. Sources must include qualitative and quantitative data to represent places in the past and present.

Both place studies must focus equally on:

• people's lived experience of place in the past and present
  and either
• changing demographic and cultural characteristics
  or
• economic change and social inequalities.

Suitable data sources could include:

• statistics, such as census data
• maps
• geo-located data
• geospatial data, including geographic information systems (GIS) applications
• photographs
• text, from varied media
• audio-visual media
• artistic representations
• oral sources, such as interviews, reminiscences, songs, etc.