Woking, Surrey: the Nature and Importance of Places Specification

Woking, Surrey: the nature and importance of places

Specification topic: Nature and importance of places 3.2.2.1

Case study: Woking, Surrey – what shapes the character of a place?

Woking is a large town in Surrey, 45km south west of central London. It has always been a well-connected place. Woking is situated on the Basingstoke Canal (which opened in 1794 to allow barges to travel from the docks in East London to Basingstoke) and is located on the mainline railway from Portsmouth to London Waterloo (the station was built in 1838 and today takes just under 30 minutes to reach London). Today, the town is situated between the A3, M3 and M25. All of these connections mean that Woking has a large commuter population.

Woking has many exogenous factors which connect it to other places. It was home to a large aircraft manufacturing plant during World War I because of its proximity to Brooklands Aerodrome. Today, Woking is home to the McLaren Group, which develops Formula One racing cars, and also several other large multinational corporations and NGOs: Capgemini, Petrofac, Ambassador’s Theatre Group, SABMiller and the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF). Woking has a multicultural and multi-ethnic population and this is partially due to it being the location of Britain’s first mosque, which was built in 1889. Woking’s global connections are reflected in frequent festivals and several areas characterised by international restaurants and cultural centres.

Woking has some interesting cultural connections. HG Wells wrote ‘War of the Worlds’ in Woking and several locations in the novel are found in the area surrounding the town. There are several pieces of public art and a heritage trail which commemorateSAMPLE this connection. The Lightbox gallery houses contemporary art collections and a local history museum, which celebrates one of Woking’s ‘famous sons’, Paul Weller of The Jam. It is thought that the song, ‘Town called Malice’ was written about his teenage years in Woking.

Woking South East England Popn density (persons per hectare) 15.6 4.5 4.1 Economic activity (%) Employed full-time 45.1 40.4 38.6 Self-employed 11.5 11.0 9.8 Unemployed 16-74 1.5 1.6 2.0 Tenure (%) Own outright 31.6 32.5 30.6 Own with mortgage 38.9 35.1 32.8 Private rented from landlord 14.6 14.7 15.4 Social rented (from local authority) 3.5 7.9 8.3 Education (%) 5 or more GCSEs grades A-C (age 16+) 14.3 15.9 15.2 No formal qualifications (age 16+) 15.2 19.1 22.5 Health (%) Very good health 51.8 49.0 47.2 Good health 34.6 34.6 34.2 Not good: day-to-day activities 5.5 6.9 8.3 restricted Ethnicity (%) White British 74.9 85.2 79.8 Mixed or multiple ethnicity 2.4 2.0 2.2 Asian or Asian British 11.5 5.2 7.7 Black or Black British 1.4 1.6 3.4 Other 1.1 0.6 1.0 Comparison of demographic composition of Woking with the South East and England (Census 2011)

Exam style questions:

1. Compare the demographic data of Woking with the areas shown in the data table above. (6 marks)

2. Assess the usefulness of demographic data such as that shown in the SAMPLE table above in helping to understand the character of a place. (6 marks)

1. Compare the demographic data of Woking with the areas shown in the data table above. (6 marks)

Select significant differences first, using specific data and descriptive vocabulary.

For example: • Population density is significantly higher in Woking than in the South East and England as a whole. It has a density of 15.6 people per hectare compared to 4.5 and 4.1 respectively. • Woking has almost double the percentage of Asian and Asian British residents (11.5%) than both the South East (5.2%) and England (7.7%). • Woking has a third fewer of those over 16 without any formal qualifications (15.2% compared to 19.1% in the South East and 22.5% in England).

Next, make connections between categories and data.

For example, • Woking has a higher percentage of people employed full-time (45.1% compared to 40.4% in the South East and 38.6% in England). This suggests that people are able to afford to buy their own home and this is supported by the data. 38.9% of people in Woking own their own home with a mortgage compared to 35.1% of people in the South East and 32.8% in England. By comparison, only 3.5% of people rent from the local authority, compared to double that figure in the South East and England (7.9% and 8.3% respectively). • Woking’s relative affluence is also suggested by health data. 51.8% of people describe themselves as being in very good health (compared to 49% and 47.2% in the South East and England) and only 5.5% describe themselves as not having good health (compared to 6.9% and 8.3% in the South East and England). A high income suggests the ability to make healthy life choices such as diet and exercise and this is reflected in the data.

You may then identify a few similarities between the data for Woking and that of south-east England and the whole on England, illustrating its ‘typicality’.

Make some concluding comments summarising the trends you have seen in the data. • Woking is a densely populated area with an ethnically diverse population. It is both healthier and wealthier than the South East and England.

SAMPLE

2. Assess the usefulness of demographic data such as that shown in the table above in helping to understand the character of a place. (6 marks)

Ways in which demographic data is useful

• Accurate, objective data representing key quantitative indicators of place-meaning: economic status, housing tenure, educational achievement, ethnicity. • Reliable data source: 2011 UK census.

Ways in which demographic data is not useful, or limited

• Health data is self-described and is therefore not objective or reliably quantitative • Census data only shows a snapshot in time – in 2011 – it does not give information about change over time, which will certainly have influenced the character of a place • The data is for Woking district as a whole – it does not give information about individual neighbourhoods or Super Output Areas (SOAs), which give important information about spatial patterns of inequality within Woking. • Character of a place is about more than just data – you need to assess qualitative sources as well in order to get the full range of endogenous and exogenous factors

Overall evaluation - no data source is enough to provide a full and detailed picture of the character place on its own. Demographic data primarily shows reliable evidence of the character of a place, although other aspects might be inferred. There is a need to use different data sets to provide an insight into different elements of the place e.g. social, environmental, demographic characteristics.

SAMPLE

What you need to know The concept of place and how humans create a sense of place How ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’ have different perspectives on a place Different categories of place: near and far places; places people experience and places experienced through the media Endogenous factors contributing to the character of places Exogenous factors contributing to the character of places

The concept of place

• Place is defined as location plus meaning. Location simply describes where a place is on a map whereas meaning is more complex. Each place has a different meaning to different people and is therefore highly personal, experiential and subjective. A particular market square, building or café is likely to mean different things to different people depending on what has happened to them (or others) there. A sense of place then, refers to those meanings which are associated with a place.

• Place can be applied to any scale: from a particular room in a building to a country or region which rouses shared feelings in people. This is particularly noticeable in times of rapid political change (such as the concept of a ‘United Kingdom’) or public events (like the Olympics) where people experience shared feelings of belonging and attachment in response to an external stimulus.

• Place does not necessarily have to be a fixed location spatially or temporally. A camper van or cruise ship which a group of people have shared for a period of time may invoke a sense of belonging in those people, as may a camp site or other temporary structure. Similarly, every place is a product of its history – formal and personal – and is therefore likely to engender feelings of attachment based on individual life events or distant historical events which are represented in architecture and iconography. People may feel a sense of belonging to a particular house where they grew up or a playground they went to as a child or similarly, may feel attachment to a part of the country where their ancestors came from. SAMPLE • Places are dynamic and subject to constant change in their material structure and meaning. Places are not isolated or cut off from outside influences and so as people, ideas and objects pass in and out of a place in space and time they change it. They are therefore changing places.

Insiders and outsiders have different perspectives on a place

• Place is a social construct, not a physical location, and this can invoke feelings of being ‘in place’ or ‘out of place’. These feelings may stem from demographic factors such as place of birth, residence or age – or they may come from socio-psychological factors such as gender, sexuality, religion, ethnicity or role in society.

• Dominant political and economic groups tend to project their power onto a place through its architecture and functions which have the effect of excluding some groups of people: they feel ‘out of place’ in that location. London Docklands is a clear example of this with its wholesale change of economic function from docks to financial centre during the 1980s with a parallel change in social characteristics. Affluent business people feel ‘comfortable’ there when some other groups do not.

• Even within one location, there may be places where some groups of people feel more welcome than others. Immigrant populations often form spatially close-knit communities in response to feelings of exclusion from often nearby neighbourhoods. They may experience a place very differently to non-immigrant groups. The same is true of gay communities. Both groups of people will perceive a place in a different way to the dominant socio-economic group.

• A place may also be experienced differently within a day. An area of a town where there are lots of office blocks and apartments is likely to be perceived very differently by employees during the day and by residents at night. The same is true of a busy shopping area of a town which has restaurants and bars interspersed. The same group of people is likely to feel both an ‘insider’ and an ‘outsider’ in that place at different times of day.

Near and far places

• National identity is, in some senses, a fiction since any one country is the product of a multitude of different groups of people, ideas and experiences. Most societies, however, are characterised by feelings of ‘us’ and ‘them’ based on shared experiences and values. These feelings are sometimes carefully cultivated for political or commercial purposes and can be both positive and negative.

• The stirring of national pride to support the Welsh football team during the Euro 2016 football tournament (where the team reached the semi-finals for the first time in 53 years) was a positive response to feelings of ‘us’ and ‘them’. The feelings were amplified by the media and had the effect of reviving and reinforcing a sense of national identity. This national pride emerged out of a sense of belonging (to the successful group) and was formed in response to favourable comparisons to the ‘other’. SAMPLE

• Sometimes, however, responses to the ‘other’ do not result in positive feelings. Xenophobia and racism are extreme reactions to ‘other places’ and peoples and go some way to explain football hooliganism, racially motivated hate crimes and terrorist acts. Of course, less harmful behaviour is known to emerge out of feelings of ‘us’ and ‘them’ and one explanation for the outcome of the EU referendum in 2016 is that Britain saw Europe as ‘the other’ – i.e. external and contrary to the sense of British identity.

Experienced places and media places

• Victorian explorers such as David Livingstone (searching for the source of the Nile in 1866) travelled to far locations in order to experience and know a place. Modern day explorers and travellers do the same. It is interesting to explore the idea, however, that you have to physically go to a place to experience an emotional attachment to it. Direct experience of a place can certainly create a sense of belonging, however transitory in nature. People who have travelled to a place are often able to describe the sounds, images and feelings they experienced there many years later. They have developed a ‘sense of place’ about the location.

• The media often represents a place in a way which contrasts with our lived experiences of it. Publicity for tourism, feature films and estate agent fliers all have different functions and appeal to different groups of people. They have a particular purpose in their portrayal of a place and can differ quite markedly from statistical and other types of qualitative data. Social media often gives a more realistic portrayal of a place, although these experiences are very individual and do not necessarily represent others’ sense of place.

• Digital technology is further changing the way that people experience place. Locative media available on mobile phones uses GPS software to bring place-specific content and experiences to people. Whether the technology is used for geo-caching or as a dating app, the line between experienced place and virtual place is blurred.

Endogenous factors contributing to the character of places

Endogenous factors are the local, internal characteristics which create a place’s identity.

Characteristic Description Location Site or situation Topography Height of the land, relief (hills, mountains) Physical geography Drainage, floodplain, soil type, valley Land use Settlement, industrial, commercial, agricultural Built environment Age of buildings, type of buildings Infrastructure SAMPLERoad and rail networks, waterways, airports Demographic Age structure, ethnicity Economic Sector (primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary)

Exogenous factors contributing to the character of places

Exogenous factors are external influences on a place’s identity. They are caused by a place’s relationship with other places.

Characteristic Description People Migrants or workers come from outside a place to live or work Capital Investment from a business based outside the area Resources Raw materials, transport infrastructure Ideas Urban planners, architects, businesses and artists may bring ideas to shape and change a place

SAMPLE

Q1 Describe what geographers mean by the term ‘sense of place’. (3 marks)

Q2 Explain why different groups of people would have contrasting views about a place. ` (4 marks)

Q3 Examine the quantitative data collected below to form part of a place profile of Brighton, a coastal town on the south coast of England.

Analyse the impression the data gives of the town. Explain how this may give a contrasting representation of the town to qualitative data such as Brighton’s tourist website and estate agent flyers of property for sale in the town.

2013 data Brighton South East England Unemployment rate 30% 26% Residents renting from the 10% 6% local authority Life expectancy female 83 years 83 years Life expectancy male 78 years 79 years Residents with level 4 37% 30% qualifications (degree level)

Q4 Decide which heading the various factors would match with in shaping the character of a place Endogenous factors Exogenous factors

SAMPLE Victorian terraced housing Ageing population A TNC opening up offices in a newly built business park Well drained soils A factory which employs 30% of the local population Rural-urban fringe Large shopping centre on the edge of town, next to the motorway Regular deliveries of component parts for the car factory Tourists in the summer A firm of London-based architects consulting on a new town centre development

Q5 Think about the implications of a dynamic (changing) sense of place A What are some of the negative implications for some areas?

B What are some of the positive implications for some areas?

SAMPLE

Q1 Describe what geographers mean by the term ‘sense of place’.

• The term describes different people’s feelings towards a particular place. • These may be feelings of attachment or of resentment depending on events which have occurred there. • The term is highly subjective and individual; it is likely that different people will ascribe very different meanings to the same place. This is likely to be influenced by life events, historical iconography and media representation. • Sense of place reflects the concept of ‘place’ as socially constructed space.

Q2 Explain why different groups of people would have contrasting views about a place.

• Different people will have different levels of emotional attachment to a place. This is likely to depend on age, gender, role, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, length of residence and language. Some people feel like ‘insiders’ while others feel like ‘outsiders’. • Different groups of people will use the space differently at different times of day. • Different groups will have different needs depending on their socio-economic characteristics such as employment status, age and family stage. • Different groups of people will have different levels of political engagement and access to power (e.g. a local councillor or the president of the local history society are likely to be politically active and have access to decision-making processes on a local level). This will affect both their influence and their views. • Redevelopment projects vary in scale but are generally top-down and therefore controlled by local and national government who will have a strategy. Most town councils have a Core Strategy which sets out the vision for the next ten years. • Redevelopment projects sometimes involve high levels of public consultation and community participation, but not all local groups are likely to feel engaged in the process.

Q3 Examine the quantitative data collected below to form part of a place profile of Brighton, a coastal town on the south coast of England.

• Formal economic representations of the place - e.g. the census data - show the town in a negative light when compared to the South East. This raw data could potentially lead to a downward spiral deterring people from the area, although qualifications data suggests that the area has high levels of educational achievement, which will influence the local economy in the future. • However, it is important to have the additional information that Brighton has two universities (the University of Sussex and Brighton University) which may explain the figure for level 4 qualifications and may not have a positive influence on the local economy if graduates leave the area. Data may be interpreted differently given additional information. • Informal representations are often used for marketing purposes to attract people to the area, for example the tourist board website. This can have a positive effect on the economy by attracting tourists, students and workers to the town. They may give a selective impression, however. • Representations in the form of photographs will have been taken by a person who chose to take the photographs of a particular area for a particular reason and thus are highly subjective pieces of qualitative data. Websites may be constructed to give a similar ‘selective’ impression.

Q4 Decide which heading the various factors would match with in shaping the character of a place Endogenous factors Exogenous factors Victorian terraced housing A TNC opening up offices in a newly built Ageing population business park Well drained soils Regular deliveries of component parts for the A factory which employs 30% of the local car factory population Tourists in the summer Rural-urban fringe A firm of London-based architects consulting Large shopping centre on the edge of town, on a new town centre development next to the motorway

Victorian terraced housing SAMPLEAgeing population A TNC opening up offices in a newly built business park Well drained soils A factory which employs 30% of the local population Rural-urban fringe Large shopping centre on the edge of town, next to the motorway Regular deliveries of component parts for the car factory Tourists in the summer A firm of London-based architects consulting on a new town centre development

Q5 Think about the implications of a dynamic (changing) sense of place A What are some of the negative implications for some areas?

‘Them’ and ‘us’ attitude in the local population Racism and xenophobia Geographical clustering (or ‘ghetto-isation’) of different ethnic or immigrant communities, impeding cultural integration Older people may feel excluded from new developments and influences

B What are some of the positive implications for some areas?

Multiculturalism Social and economic mixing Community engagement with the processes of change New leisure opportunities, e.g. festivals, foreign food, world cinema

SAMPLE