Reference no: EM132390644 , Length: word count : 2000
Assignment : Why Place Matters
The centrality of place in human affairs is a key focus of human geographers. The concept of place spans these three recurring themes in your textbook:
o Places reflect unique relationships between humans and land.
o Places share characteristics in common, allowing them to be categorized into regions.
o Places are locations in geographic space and can be analyzed as such.
Place is a key concept for understanding the significance of geography. In this assignment you will explore how places function as the meaningful context for human interaction. Places matter because they provide the settings for human interaction and everyday life.
They structure daily routines associated with economic and social life and, in doing so, they enable and constrain activities associated with social, economic, and physical wellbeing.
Hence, places are important in their own right. But it is vital not to forget that while places are unique, they are also tied into broader patterns of geographical development - they are connected to other places.
In this assignment you will explore place as a key concept for understanding the significance of geography, and a particular place as the meaningful context for human interaction. Begin by thinking about four to five places that you see as having strong symbolic value or meaning. These places can be neighbourhoods, towns, or cities, or a local region or landscape.
Think about how these places have acquired their meaning and symbolic significance. Can their meanings be traced to daily activities, significant personal events, or to broader cultural or historical legacies? Next, choose the place you are most familiar with, or even a new place you would like to get to know better, and write a report on it, covering the below points.
In your report
o Introduce and describe your selected place and explain why you chose it.
o Outline the history of this location and how this particular place has evolved over time.
o Discuss how this place has acquired its meaning and symbolic significance.
o Show how this place's meanings can be traced to daily activities, significant personal or other people's events, social interaction, or cultural/historical legacy.
o Identify the most important aspects of your location's site and its situation. These are defined on page 53 of Human Geography:
Site: The location of a geographic fact with reference to the immediate local environment.
Situation:The location of a geographic fact with reference to the broad special system of which it is a part.
o Describe some major, influential, or important non-human (natural) and human (population, built environment) geographic features.
o Describe your location in terms of its sense of place. This is defined on page 53 of Human Geography:
Sense of Place: The deep attachments that humans have to specific locations such as home and also to particularly distinctive locations.
o Ensure that you have covered all of the above points.
. The Word or RTF version of your essay should have a title page with your name, your student ID, the assignment name, and your submission date.
Option 3: Google Earth Tour Builder (use this as a tool)
For this option you will present your report as a tour in Google Earth, using Google Earth Tour Builder. Proceed as follows:
1. Ensure that your chosen place is available in Google Earth with enough detail for the purposes of creating a tour.
2. You will need a Gmail account, which is also a Google account. If you do not have one, go to gmail.com and open one.
3. Go to Google Earth Tour Builder.
4. Click on "Create a Tour" and follow the instructions.
5. Find your location on the Google Earth section of the interface and identify it with a placemarker.
6. Identify on the map the sites and features you that describe in your report.
7. Integrate segments of your report to present the distinctive features of your place.
8. Use pictures, videos, or other media to present your selected place.
9. Add as many slides as you need for your Tour Builder presentation.
10. Save your work and make it public so that you can share it with your tutor and course peers.
TECHNICAL INSTRUCTIONS
Google Earth's instructions for Tour Builder are very clear, and the tool is highly intuitive. You do not really need a tutorial, technical knowledge, or previous experience to develop your Tour Builder presentation. Just follow the instructions on the Tour Builder website.
However, if you feel that you need more information, consult Google Earth's Storytelling with Maps Using Tour Builder tutorial. You may also want to watch Richard Treves's Google Earth Tour Builder HowTo video.
The following are some descriptions of Tour Builder and how it can be applied.
Google Earth Intros Tour Builder, a Cooler Way to Tell Stories. Mashable.
Google Earth Tour Builder Lets You Tell Stories Through Maps. engadget.
Length: 1,500-2,000 words (double-spaced, using Times New Roman 12-point font)