Space and place
Space is an area without special meaning, like an empty field on a map. A place is a space that people have filled with meaning: memories, names, stories, routines.
A well-known way to describe a place has three parts:
- Location: where the place is (coordinates, near what).
- Locale: the setting where everyday life happens (homes, schools, shops, parks).
- Sense of place: the feelings and attachment people have for it.
Places matter because they shape our identity, health, chances and sense of belonging.
Insiders and outsiders
An insider feels at home in a place: they belong, know its unwritten rules and have memories there. An outsider feels separate: a visitor, a newcomer, or someone who feels unwelcome.
It is not only about where you live. A new student can feel like an outsider in their own town; a regular tourist can feel like an insider in a city far away. Age, gender, religion, language and income all affect how welcome people feel.
Near and far places, experienced and media places
Some places we know by being there (experienced places). Others we know only from TV, news or social media (media places). Far places can feel near through family links or online friends.
Endogenous and exogenous factors
Endogenous (inside) factors
- Location and relief (topography): river, hill, coast.
- Land use and the built environment: fields, factories, flats.
- Demographics: age, size and mix of the population.
- The local economy and infrastructure.
Exogenous (outside) factors
Relationships and connections with other places: flows of people (migrants, commuters, tourists), money (investment, remittances), goods (trade) and ideas (culture, news, internet).
Shifting flows can change a place quickly: a new highway, a factory moving abroad, or remote work bringing new residents.
How places change
Places change because of past and present connections:
- Economic change: a mill closes (deindustrialisation); new services, offices or tourism arrive.
- Demographic change: young people leave, or migrants arrive and bring new food, festivals and shops.
- Cultural change: new meanings, street art, new names.
- Regeneration and gentrification: old areas are rebuilt; this can bring jobs but raise rents and push out long-time residents.
The meaning of a place changes too: a busy factory area may become "run-down", then "trendy". Different groups may disagree about these changes.
Representing places
Places are shown to us through representations. Each one is chosen by someone and can leave things out.
- Formal: census tables, official statistics, maps, government reports, tourist brochures.
- Informal: photos, songs, poems, novels, films, graffiti, social media posts, people's stories.
A tourist poster may show only the beach; a local song may tell of floods and lost jobs. Good geographers compare several representations and ask: who made it, for whom, and why?
Studying a place: skills and data
Quantitative data (numbers)
Census data, population change, deprivation indices, house prices, land-use counts, traffic counts. Shown with graphs, maps and statistics.
Qualitative data (words, images, feelings)
Interviews, oral histories, photos, diaries, newspaper articles, social media text, sketches. Analysed by looking for themes (coding) and comparing views.
Place studies
A good study compares a local place you know with a contrasting place (different size, wealth or culture). For each, look at changes over time, flows and connections, and how people feel. The same method lets you compare regions: their relief, climate, economy, population and identity.
Local identity: your small homeland
Many people feel strongest attachment to their own home area: its dialect, foods, festivals, landmarks and stories. This local identity is part of their sense of place. Learning the history and geography of your home area helps you understand why it looks and feels the way it does, and how it links to the wider world.
Try it: map your place
Draw a simple sketch of your street or neighbourhood. Mark three spots with a heart (your memories) and three spots a visitor would photograph. Then count one thing (shops, trees or people passing in 5 minutes) and ask two older people how the area has changed. You now have quantitative and qualitative data, and insider and outsider views. Compare with the free-play step in the 3D.
Key formulas and definitions
- Place = space + meaning
- Location (where) + Locale (setting of daily life) + Sense of place (feelings)
- Insider = belongs and feels at home; Outsider = feels separate or new
- Endogenous = inside factors (relief, land use, population, economy); Exogenous = outside links and flows
- Flows: people, money, goods, ideas
- Representations: formal (statistics, maps) and informal (art, film, social media)
Worked examples
1. Is a new housing estate on a map a space or a place?
Before anyone lives there it is mostly a space. Once families move in, make friends and memories, and name the park "our park", it becomes a place.
2. Classify: (a) a river valley, (b) a new train line to the capital, (c) an ageing population, (d) money sent home by workers abroad.
(a) endogenous (relief), (b) exogenous (connection), (c) endogenous (demographics), (d) exogenous (flow of money).
3. A town's population fell from 4000 to 3100 between 1970 and 2000. Find the percentage change.
(3100 − 4000) ÷ 4000 × 100 = −22.5%, a fall of 22.5%.
4. Give one quantitative and one qualitative source for studying how a market street has changed.
Quantitative: count of shop types in old and new business directories. Qualitative: interviews with shopkeepers who have worked there for 30 years.
5. Why might a tourist brochure and a local poem show the same coastal town differently?
The brochure wants to attract visitors, so it shows sunny beaches. The poet lives there and may describe winter storms, empty holiday homes or lost fishing jobs. Each has a purpose and an audience.
Common mistakes
- Using 'space' and 'place' as the same thing. Place always has human meaning.
- Thinking insiders are only people born there. Belonging depends on feelings and experience too.
- Mixing up endogenous and exogenous. Endogenous = inside the place; exogenous = links with other places.
- Trusting one representation. Always ask who made it, why, and what it leaves out.