Place is a meaningful location socially and geographically that is carved by people, communities and culture; and which gives place an identity. It ties humans together with the environment and is defined through distinctive physical and socially qualities. Though it’s different to spaces that are just located boundaries that counterpoint place.
2. Creswell. T, 2006, Reading ‘A Global Sense of Place’, Chpt 3
Creswell explores the notion of place by looking at David Harvey’s view in ‘From Space to Place and Back Again’, and comparing it to Doreen Massey’s view of place in ‘A Global Sense of Place’, 1994. These chapters were published in the 90s, an era of rapid globalization that resulted in homogenization and cultural imperialism.
Harvey’s notion of place is an out-dated idealized view that place is inhabited by homogeneous identities that are set up against current mobility, uncertainty and fragmentation in this globalizing world. He believes place is a social construct which we are bound to certain social identities and divisions. Harvey uses gated communities in the USA to show the idea of place as a barrier against the threats from the outside. This shows his notion of place is a permanence that is in constant tension with mobility, a prime force of globalization. This is also the main reason for homogenization and cultural imperialism, which Harvey believes, makes place more important as we value it more highly from outside threats and it’s what makes us differentiate place from others.
Massey, on the other hand, seems to embrace the concept of mobility while Harvey seems to shelter from the idea. She rejects Harvey’s idea of a clearly bounded and single homogeneous place but rather a heterogeneous place that is connecte...
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...luent to feed on and take advantage of. May this even be a rebel against these anti-globalisation communities?
While Massey’s view of place was defined by the outside and inside; carved by a multiple of identities and histories from around the world. For her, gated communities do not celebrate the connection of communities around the world and thus don’t have a sense of place. As countries becomes more cultural and internationalizes, it is hard to see how gated communities are able to thrive without any consequences or problems of a globalising world. The gates provide a false sense of security and a mask to society’s problems of inequality, class/polarization, racism and poverty. However, effects of globalisation, i.e. Harvey’s idea of threats of the outside like crime, cannot be sheltered. This therefore shows that gated communities give a false sense of place.
“The buildings in Harlem are brick and stone.and the streets are long and wide.but Harlem’s much more than these alone. Harlem is what’s inside.” (Hughes, 1945). Gordy realised that neighbourhoods also represented cultural cohesion where they could relate to each other.
This nation was relatively stable in the eyes of immigrants though under constant political and economic change. Immigration soon became an outlet by which this nation could thrive yet there was difficulty in the task on conformity. Ethnic groups including Mexicans and Chinese were judged by notions of race, cultural adaptations and neighborhood. Mary Lui’s “The Chinatown Trunk Mystery” and Michael Innis-Jimenez’s “Steel Barrio”, provides a basis by which one may trace the importance of a neighborhood in the immigrant experience explaining the way in which neighborhoods were created, how these lines were crossed and notions of race factored into separating these
...ewish enclave to a predominantly Mexican community” (Sanchez, 2004, p. 640) due to the fact that the “Jewish community of Los Angeles as a whole was transformed by the demographic changes, clearly becoming “white” in the racial hierarchy of the region both geographically and politically” (Sanchez, 2004, p. 640). The place of the Jewish community changed along with their identity. Once they became “white” they no longer were restricted to living in Boyle Heights. In Los Angeles, it is clear through what happened to this one group of people that one’s metaphorical place in society, meant to be one’s racial and class status in what Sanchez refers to as a hierarchy, has a direct link to one’s literal or geographical place in the city. The ongoing divisions within society caused by stratification have become the basis of the meaning of place in contemporary Los Angeles.
Have you ever gone to Chinatown supposing to find a culture full of African Americans? Probably not, because that is not where they’re expected to be. We live in a world where colonies of different colored people are expected, or otherwise discriminated into populating distinct spaces; African Americans are supposed to be in the ghetto, Chinese belong in Chinatown, and Caucasians reserve more elite communities. For centuries, each race has been striving to belong in a society where people are accepted as equals and certain jobs are not handed out to favored ethnicities. This form of discrimination has somewhat dwindled down, however, it still has an undeniable impact on the lives of every single generation since mankind was created. In Dionne Brand’s What We All Long For (WWALF), we view and contrast the lives of four different but very similar characters in which they negotiate different aspects of their lives in order to find their own unique and comfortable place in the powerful and diverse city of Toronto. The following essay examines the depiction of global spaces and the effects on diasporic identity through characters Tuyen and Carla from WWALF. I will analyze and contrast the adaptation of the characters to the city, the influence from the characters’ homes, and the connection to the emotional spaces; illustrating the effects on identification.
Whenever a stranger enters an unfamiliar society, a clash between the outsider’s practices and society’s guidelines undoubtedly occurs. Whether the resulting conflict minimally or powerfully affects the people involved depends on the situation, but usually the results are monumental. In the short stories “The Blue Hotel,” “The Displaced Person,” and “Bernice Bobs her Hair,” and the novel In Dubious Battle, society’s fear of the stranger has severe negative consequences for the newcomer, as the community’s rules prevail over the outsiders in the end.
Nayak, A. (2003). Race, place, and globalization: youth cultures in a changing world. Oxford: Berg Publishers.
An individual’s ‘Sense of Place’ is predominantly their place of belonging and acceptance in the world, may it be through a strong physical, emotional or spiritual connection. In Tim Winton’s novel ‘The Riders”, the concept of Sense of Place is explored through the desperate journey of its protagonist, Fred Scully. Scully’s elaborate search for identity throughout the novel is guided and influenced by the compulsive love he feels for his wife Jennifer and their family morals, the intensity of hope and the destruction it can cause and the nostalgic nature of Winton’s writing. Two quotes which reflect the ideals of a person’s Sense of Place are “Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him.’(Aldous Huxley) and “It is not down in any map. True places never are.” (Herman Melville). Huxley and Melville’s statements closely resemble Fred Scully’s journey and rectify some of his motivations throughout the text.
...ms by which to live. An individual confronts many challenges in society, whether it be crime and punishment, struggle to grow, or other rapid modifications. Cry, The Beloved Country and Things Fall Apart exemplify how societies can be disrupted and how people react to interruptions to their traditional way of life. Some choose to adapt to society’s new ways, while others resist assimilating themselves with the innovative public. Societal change happens no matter where you are, however, how someone allows it to affect them remains determined by that person. Society maintains their own way of punishment, production of a particular type of person, and causes some to prevent from adapting to its evolving ways.
The climate and landscapes of America are as diverse as the 300 million people that live here, and the choices to which region to live this often determined by the cultures and traditions of its people. Most citizens chose to live in (or around) one of America’s largest cities, where you will be exposed to the unlimited diversity of races, cultures, art and architecture. Other people may prefer to live in much smaller cities or towns, where one culture may be more traditional and consistent. There are many American’s who prefer to live in a more rural or private area, like in remote mountains, isolated forests or vast desserts. Yet wherever a person lives within the United States of America, there will be a blending of heritages, the mixing of traditions and the merging lifestyles. The immense combinations of people and cultures have been brought here from all around the world. Since the beginning of the Spanish settlements in the West, to the earliest European colony in the East, America has had a great mix of multicultural peoples living together. For instance the millions of ‘Native Americans’(living amongst their native cultures for thousands of years) were the first peoples/tribes encountered by European inhabitors when reaching this continent (which later became the United States of America). This excessive gathering of diverse peoples: in a new land, holding on to their own customs and cultures, has created the America we know today. This combination of multi-cultural people, are who formed together and later gained their independence through war and became a strong and powerful nation. The history of America’s ‘mixed inhabitants’ is complex yet fascinating. America has been called ‘The Melting Pot’ of the world, ...
The privatization and fragmentation of space in post-industrial urban America is a widespread social problem. As society becomes even more globalized as a result of technological advances, the rampant spread of a privatized public realm is ever-increasing. Public space is needed as a center in which to bring people together to share a common place. It is within public spaces that public life unfolds and without public spaces such as parks, streets, and buildings, the mixing of classes will become increasingly uncommon. Society is made up of two sectors: the private and public, and it is essential that both remain separate entities. However, through the use of fear tactics especially the threat of violent crimes, privatized settings are spreading throughout the public sphere. In this analysis, it is my intent to explore the various tactics being used to impede upon the public sphere. In doing so, I will explore the causal factors that contribute to the increased privatization of urban public life.
Furthermore, both articles “Gentrification: A Positive Good For Communities” and. “The Deeper Problems We Miss When We Attack ‘Gentrification’” exhibit their opinion on the positives of gentrification and the potential of “revitalization” in low-income urban communities. Badger argues that gentrification brings nothing more than further opportunities for urban communities while integrating citizens of different social classes. Furthermore, she continues to question if gentrification is in fact the monster that brings the prior expressions against gentrification where she says “If poor neighborhoods have historically suffered from dire disinvestment, how can the remedy to that evil — outside money finally flowing in — be the problem, too?”(Badger) Stating that the funds generated from sources external that are brought into these communities can’t be problematic.
The two readings details life as a minority and the differences that arise between towns and cities that are racially separated, such as high income areas that tend to be more white. Most Americans would probably like to think that our country has made great strides towards multiculturalism, but the facts tell a different story. The reading from Marger and the two film clips show that while segregation is now illegal it still lives on through the lack of racial and ethnic integration in neighborhoods. Policies that were established during the 1950s, such as redlining, persist to this day. Our communities and public schools still foster racial divisions established during the mid 1900s. Primary structural assimilation could offer a solution
...diversity through her narrative in Chapter 12-13. She argues that diversity is intrinsically responsible for allowing city life to flourish in a productive manner, and as well provides the foundation for the perpetuation of urban environments. I strongly agree with Jacobs’ insights as to the urban planning techniques that maintain diversity in the city.
The solutions to residential segregation could be classified according to the basis which include place, people and indirect approaches (Bouston, 2013). The main aim of policies based on place is to improve the amenities and housing stocks in black dominated neighborhoods as a means of encouraging the white to settle in these areas or alternatively creation of affordable options for housing in the whites’ neighborhood to encourage the white settling in such places. However the challenges to this approach is that research conducted showed that the white households still had a negative mentality towards the black neighborhoods and no matter the improvement to these neighborhoods, they still won’t move. Another challenge with the policy is that improvements to neighborhoods will consequently lead to rise in house prices making it unaffordable even to those currently living
A place, for me, is somewhere that I am familiar with and I recognize it in some way as my own special geographic location. It is somewhere I am emotionally attached to and it is a place that I wish to remain at. I personally feel that it has taken me years to achieve this particular comprehension about where for certain that place is for me in my life, and to make out why I feel a certain way about being within the walls of my own home. I have now come to realize that my home is where my heart will always truly be, because I believe it is the only place where I will always be loved without