Places and Regeneration – Human Geography Notes Paper 2
How and Why Places Vary?
Key terms:
• Place – geographical spaces shaped by individuals and communities over time
• Regeneration – involves a number of players (local planners, developers, pressure
groups) who attempt to modify places to make them more productive and attractive
places to live, work and use for leisure. It is often used to tackle inequality within the
urban or rural environment
Factors that affect place:
• Landscape
• Population
• Cultures
• Urban = more dynamic
• Level of development
• Global ‘hubs’
• Industries (land use)
• Level of affluence
• Political ideology
• Population density
Places vary at the rate they change – this can be called dynamism
Employment Sector
• A key factor in the creation of place is the structure of the local economy
Key terms:
• Primary sector – this industry involves acquiring raw materials. This is sometimes known
as extractive production, e.g. fishing, farming, mining etc.
• Secondary sector – the manufacturing and assembly process. It involves converting raw
materials into components and involves assembling the product, e.g. steel works
• Tertiary sector – refers to the commercial services that support the production and
distribution process. This is frequently referred to as the service sector and involves
people interacting with people to provide a service, e.g. hospitality
1
, • Quaternary sector – refers to the knowledge-based part of the economy and includes
service such as IT, information generation and sharing, media and research
development
• Quinary sector – the highest levels of decision-making in an economy – the top business
executives and officials in government, science, universities, non-profit organisations
etc.
Employment type:
3 main types of workers:
1. Employees with contracts (in 2015 – 18.4 million people had full-time contracts and 9 million
had part-time contracts)
2. Workers (agency staff and volunteers)
3. Self-employed (freelancers, consultants and volunteers)
Economic activity and social implications:
• Economic activity in places has direct and indirect impacts on the key social factors
affecting people
• Economic activity may be measured by employment and output data (location
quotients, GDP, GVA)
2
, Ø Location quotient – a mapable ratio which helps show specialisation in any data
distribution being studied
Ø GVA – measures the contribution to the economy of each individual producer,
industry or sector. It’s used in calculating GDP
Inequality of pay levels:
• Those working in the primary sector and low-level services receive lower pay than those
in more-skilled and professional sectors
• Jobs may be seasonal and insecure compared with manufacturing and higher-level
services
• There’s a huge disparity in incomes and cost of living nationally and locally
• Prices for goods and services vary regionally, e.g. London and the South East are more
expensive to live in than the rest of the UK
• The richest 1% of the population received 13% of all income and accumulated as much
wealth as the poorest 55% of the population put together in 2014
• The top 10% of employees, mainly managers, directors and senior officials earned over
£53,000 annually
The wages map of Britain:
3
, • Highest concentration in London – London is a global hub and a popular tourist
destination
• Knowledge based employment in London
• North West (Sellafield nuclear power plant) – money from nuclear power plant
• North Sea oil in the North East of Scotland – money from oil
Quality of Life Indices
• Definition – the level of social and economic well being experienced by individuals or
communities measured by various indicators including happiness, educational
achievement, income etc.
The factors contributing to quality of life and inequality:
Factors and processes Fieldwork and secondary research opportunities
4
How and Why Places Vary?
Key terms:
• Place – geographical spaces shaped by individuals and communities over time
• Regeneration – involves a number of players (local planners, developers, pressure
groups) who attempt to modify places to make them more productive and attractive
places to live, work and use for leisure. It is often used to tackle inequality within the
urban or rural environment
Factors that affect place:
• Landscape
• Population
• Cultures
• Urban = more dynamic
• Level of development
• Global ‘hubs’
• Industries (land use)
• Level of affluence
• Political ideology
• Population density
Places vary at the rate they change – this can be called dynamism
Employment Sector
• A key factor in the creation of place is the structure of the local economy
Key terms:
• Primary sector – this industry involves acquiring raw materials. This is sometimes known
as extractive production, e.g. fishing, farming, mining etc.
• Secondary sector – the manufacturing and assembly process. It involves converting raw
materials into components and involves assembling the product, e.g. steel works
• Tertiary sector – refers to the commercial services that support the production and
distribution process. This is frequently referred to as the service sector and involves
people interacting with people to provide a service, e.g. hospitality
1
, • Quaternary sector – refers to the knowledge-based part of the economy and includes
service such as IT, information generation and sharing, media and research
development
• Quinary sector – the highest levels of decision-making in an economy – the top business
executives and officials in government, science, universities, non-profit organisations
etc.
Employment type:
3 main types of workers:
1. Employees with contracts (in 2015 – 18.4 million people had full-time contracts and 9 million
had part-time contracts)
2. Workers (agency staff and volunteers)
3. Self-employed (freelancers, consultants and volunteers)
Economic activity and social implications:
• Economic activity in places has direct and indirect impacts on the key social factors
affecting people
• Economic activity may be measured by employment and output data (location
quotients, GDP, GVA)
2
, Ø Location quotient – a mapable ratio which helps show specialisation in any data
distribution being studied
Ø GVA – measures the contribution to the economy of each individual producer,
industry or sector. It’s used in calculating GDP
Inequality of pay levels:
• Those working in the primary sector and low-level services receive lower pay than those
in more-skilled and professional sectors
• Jobs may be seasonal and insecure compared with manufacturing and higher-level
services
• There’s a huge disparity in incomes and cost of living nationally and locally
• Prices for goods and services vary regionally, e.g. London and the South East are more
expensive to live in than the rest of the UK
• The richest 1% of the population received 13% of all income and accumulated as much
wealth as the poorest 55% of the population put together in 2014
• The top 10% of employees, mainly managers, directors and senior officials earned over
£53,000 annually
The wages map of Britain:
3
, • Highest concentration in London – London is a global hub and a popular tourist
destination
• Knowledge based employment in London
• North West (Sellafield nuclear power plant) – money from nuclear power plant
• North Sea oil in the North East of Scotland – money from oil
Quality of Life Indices
• Definition – the level of social and economic well being experienced by individuals or
communities measured by various indicators including happiness, educational
achievement, income etc.
The factors contributing to quality of life and inequality:
Factors and processes Fieldwork and secondary research opportunities
4
