Reading around changing places changing urban places What
Reading around changing places, changing urban places
What to do This presentation is a collection of articles from the GA’s journals. It is designed to broaden your knowledge and deepen your understanding of geography, for example to extend your reading for interest, to prepare for exams, or thinking forward to university. You could: • read the articles and make notes, or use graphic organisers to jot down your thinking • use the reflective questions to help focus your thinking. You can view these slides: • is a slide-show to follow links • In ‘normal’ view if you want to add call-outs or extra slides to make notes, paste images, answer questions. © Geographical Association,
Place and identity: Wales, 'Welshness' and the Welsh language’ In this paper Rhys Jones introduces and explains two themes with regard to place and identity: geographical scale and representations. The articles maps the Welsh language and uses this as a measure of identity which can be linked to spaces and places. © Geographical Association, Reflection • Explain what Jones means by the ‘two -way’ relationship between place and identity in Wales and elsewhere. • What is the role of representation in shaping place and identity? • Explore how ‘specific physical or cultural endowments’ help understand (or misunderstand) Welsh identity in different places, and the role of maps in representing identity.
Ethnic diversity is increasing: does this mean the UK is becoming more segregated? The UK population has never been more ethnically diverse. This growth of diversity has gone hand -in-hand with policy, political and public assumptions about segregation: that greater ethnic diversity equates with higher levels of ethnic segregation, and that minorities do not want to integrate. In this paper Gemma Catney explores, and ultimately challenges, these assumptions. © Geographical Association, Reflection • What does Catney mean by ‘damaging public discourses’ about segregation? • What is the evidence for the trend to reductions in geographical segregation? • Explain or give examples of how population changes interact with geography to create a complex picture of segregation/integration.
Changing places: geographies of post-disaster landscapes This paper by Simon Dickinson uses the 2010 Christchurch earthquake to explain how natural disasters (and recovery from them) might change the ways in which people understand connect with specific places. © Geographical Association, Reflection • Assess the evidence presented in the article that the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes changed the ways that Christchurch is understood as a ‘place’. • How does the article add to your understanding of the way in which people perceive, engage with or form attachments to places?
Kelham Island: a model case study? In this article Christopher Hoare proposes Kelham Island in Sheffield as the basis for a ‘model’ GCSE or A level case study on changing places. This is a good case study example of a changing place: there is more material here. © Geographical Association, Reflection • Read the article and make notes on how this small industrial area has undergone regeneration, explaining why the area fell into disrepair and commenting on the success of the project as well as the negative outcomes.
Why Detroit matters – lessons and visions In this paper Brian Doucet considers why the simplistic narrative of Detroit (USA) as an example of urban failure is problematic. He provides a critical assessment of more recent narratives that portray the city in a more positive light, ignoring deep social, spatial and economic divisions. Reflection • Explain why, in the author’s view, Detroit should be seen neither as a ‘failed city’ or a ‘renaissance city’. • To what extent are the presentday characteristics of Detroit shaped by processes that are taking or have taken place beyond the city’s boundaries? Detroit rephotography is a renowned series of ‘then and now’ images. Consider the extent to which they support Doucet’s ideas about image and meaning in thinking about Detroit. © Geographical Association,
The changing face of Leipzig Harriet Herbst’s paper is a case study on the processes of development and regeneration of Leipzig, Germany. It particularly contrasts two districts in the west of the city and the impact of the following processes on them: change & renewal deindustrialisation gentrification industrialisation regeneration re-urbanisation structural change suburbanisation © Geographical Association, Reflection • Check you understand what the listed processes mean, and how they change cities. • Organise the processes to show change in Leipzig – a flowchart, timeline or map might be a good way to do so. • How do demographics and accessibility help understand different changes in the districts of Plagwitz and Grünau?
Nature-based solutions: Barcelona’s ‘sustainable city’ With this case study of two city-scale interventions in Barcelona, Mary Gearey explores how ‘naturebased solutions’ can help tackle a wide range of contemporary urban challenges. © Geographical Association, Reflection • What do you understand by the term ‘wicked problems’? • What are the ‘wicked problems’ faced by the majority of cites? • Describe the ideas that underpin approaches to sustainable development in urban areas. • Explain what is meant by ‘naturebased solutions’. Develop one of the two examples (Superblocks or Arboreal Avenues) into a case study of nature-based solutions.
Changing places: the Armed Forces, post-military space and urban change in Plymouth, UK In this paper Stephen Essex and Richard Yarwood consider how militarism and post-militarism impact upon places and the people who live in them, with a focus on Plymouth, in Devon (UK). © Geographical Association, Reflection • Suggest how you would further investigate the idea put forward in the article, that the military has deeply affected the way in which Plymouth is seen, experienced and understood as a place. • You may refer to both firsthand secondary sources of evidence you would use.
Capturing a ‘sense of place’ through fieldwork In this article Sophie Brand describes how video ethnography techniques can evoke ‘atmosphere’, adding a perspective to the study of place and making A level fieldwork more meaningful. © Geographical Association, Reflection • Define the key terms in Figure 1, adding your own examples to illustrate your understandings of: place; space; atmosphere; perceptions of place. Develop ideas for your own Independent Investigation: • Try to practise video ethnography in your own surroundings to explore the possibilities of using this method of data collection. • Identify local possibilities for future video ethnography fieldwork.
Changing places: Elstree and Port Talbot In this article Robert Cooper, Ashleigh Mc. Grath and Nerys Fielden explain how they tackled the challenge of the 'Changing places‘ unit, describing how they chose their places and their approach to it. © Geographical Association, Reflection • Write a piece about a place of your choice that covers its character and identity, your sense of belonging, and outsider and insider views of your place. • The accompanying download suggests further resources to support the ‘Changing Places’ dimension of the A level syllabus. • You might investigate the sense of a place using the prompts on the next slide.
Changing places: investigating a ‘sense of place’ Reflection • Read ‘Changing places: Elstree and Port Talbot’ (previous slide) • Ask members of your household or others via Face. Time, Skype etc. to talk to you for a couple of minutes about a place of their choice. • Analyse your results. Are there any factors that are common to everyone you spoke to in terms of a ‘sense of place’? If so, what is it about a ‘sense of place’ that encapsulates these similarities? • If this is not the case, can you explain why different people have different perspectives about what a ‘place’ means to them? • If as an A level geography student you cannot experience first hand the contrasting place you are studying, how is it possible to develop a ‘sense of place’ and to understand the impact of change on that place using only secondary sources? © Geographical Association,
Links GA Podcast: Listen to Professor Tony Champion talking about Urbanisation, migration, elevators and escalators © Geographical Association,
Acknowledgements This presentation has been written by John Hopkin, formerly Head of Accreditation for the GA. © Geographical Association,
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