WebText-
GEOGRAPHY OF
Chapter 2 – PLACE and
DRAFT
webtext by G. Atwood, 2012
Use
with professional courtesy including attribution of original
sources where indicated generally in the title of the image file.
LINK
to printable version… it may differ a bit from this web-posted version.
Subtitle:
Know
where you are… know who you are… know where you are… know who you are
BIG CONCEPTS (meaning… these concepts
provide ways to explore themes of geography of
1. Place is more than Location.
Place connects
us to location.
2.
Wallace
Stegner explored place and placelessness with respect to his own roots… and
3.
The Power of
Place. Places leave imprints on people. Even constructs of place leave imprints on people.
4.
A sense of
place is not the same as a sense of direction and both can be enhanced through use of landmarks.
5.
The term “place” has a few meanings. For UofU-Geograhy of Utah, place means location with an attitude... meaning, location connected to meaning
6. Landmarks are signposts… one tried and true path toward a sense of place
7. 7.
What’s in a name? Name a place, know the name of a place, … connect to that place
8. 8.
9. 9.
County boundaries and county names have evolved through
10. 10. Abundant information exists at a county scale for students
of geography of
11. 11. Use multiple modes of learning to memorize place names (song, art, kinesthetics, and visualiztion) is one way to connect to places and begin to develop as sense of place about them.
EVIDENCE. Examine (or imagine) these images
in the context of PLACE.
Atwood-UofU-Place-LibrarySquareMarriott
Atwood-UofU-LookWestFromGolfCourse
Atwood-U-Mountain
Washington County - D
US-Capitol
UT-StateCapitol
Quotation:
Brigham
Young, July 1847, is said to have said “This is the PLACE!”… note, he didn’t
say, this is the LOCATION.
Cases:
This
is the Place – monument and heritage park LINK to
GoogleEarthLink and to Park website / ad in
SLTribune
UofU
environmental humanities program… placed-based literature - LINK to UofU
environmental humanities
LINK to: Utah Place Names, Van Cott, 1990, UofU Press, 453 p
And for the sheer joy of it...
Topics… Questions to Ponder
–
What
is the difference between PLACE and LOCATION? ... LINK
to The 15 Words of GEOG3600
What
is a sense of place?
What
is placelessness?
Elementary
school students (I’ve been told by a researcher whose name I have forgotten … )
who have a sense of place “do better” than those who are “placeless.”
Overarching Goal of the
Chapter:
By having studied this chapter, students will be able to articulate, even if they don't quite understand others' perspectives, what Wallace Stegner and others mean by a sense of place, and what G. Atwood means by the "power of place". By the end of this web-text / course, students should (a) have a
sense of place for
By the end of this chapter…
you should:
· Understand what Stegner /
· Kind of understand why the second theme of
geography is PLACE.
· Know, in theory, at least five ways to gain
a sense of place… such as,
Ø Landmarks
Ø Names
Ø Understanding
Ø Literature
Ø Emotion
Ø Kinesthetic appreciation.
· Have explored your own sense of place.
· Understand that geographers and others set
boundaries, name features, define places… as well as determine location.
Coaching for students of
UofU GEOG3600-Geography of
Memorize
the Five Themes
of Geography. (Location, Place, Interaction, Migration/Movement, and Region).
Coaching:
Memorize the general location and names of
MAJOR CONCEPT:
PLACE
is the second of the “five themes of geography” the others being (1) location,
(3) migration / movement, (4) interaction, and (5) region. Place is “location”
plus personal connectedness / attachment. Landmarks are one of several paths to
gaining a sense of place. Sense of place is a pathway to empowerment.
The
connectedness may be psychological, historical, by familiarity, by
understanding, or by landmarks… cultural or physical landmarks. It can even by
song or by literature. It is personal. It is special. It’s a bit nebulous,
associated with sub-conscious affiliations.
TERMS to understand with
respect to PLACE:
These
terms may be on the mid-term
(use your own words) or on quizzes
Place
Sense
of place
Placelessness
Sense
of direction
Boundary
Political
boundary
History
State
of
County
Some THEORY / CONCEPTS
towards an understanding of PLACE and geography of
1.
Place is more than location. Place connects us to
location.
Atwood-Delicate
Arch PLACE : Physicallandmark.
Atwood-UofU-Marriott-Library PLACE :
Cultural landmark
Location
is with respect to another location, often a place. Place is … hmmm… explore
this a bit on your own.
2.
Wallace Stegner explored place and placelessness with
respect to his own roots… and
“Sense
of Place” has become a mantra of western
LINK to
image of book jacket of Where the Bluebird Sings to the Lemonade Springs,
essay on The Sense of Place by Stegner.
LINK
to full text, http://www.mtbaker.wednet.edu/tlcf/The%20Sense%20of%20Place.htm
GAtwood
reads excerpts as part of podcast...
Backdrop
LINK to Stegner symposium 2009
Would
you consider yourself a “placed” person or a “displaced” person or a
“placeless” person… and what would you explore as you discuss the differences?
Where
is your sense of place from? What is that sense…
3.
The Power of Place.
"they say: ... grade
school students who are “placeless” do not do as well in school as student with
a sense of place, even if it is for somewhere else.
Ongoing
research explores “place-attachment” such as place attachment of residents
within 5 miles of
Constructs of place -- Utah Travel Council License plates Delicate arch. Snowboarder... .
Philosopher
– Geographer Yi-Fu Tuan explores concepts of space, place and safety. He
relates a sense of place to sense of “home” and to “habitat.” He discusses
places as safe havens, where one lives, -or- where one feels at home, even if
it isn’t home. He also discusses how a sense of place is a “pause” … where one
can catch one’s breath or where one’s breath is taken away by connectedness…
connectedness understood or a visceral sense of connectedness. Tuan explores
how sense of place relates to a sense of scale. He explores paths to
connectedness: sense of state, heritage, or country heritage; versus community
or school.
Paths to a sense of place include: physical and cultural landmarks… and naming those places. Components of a sense of place can include: familiarity, reinforced by conversation, by emotion, by activities, by family, by heritage, art, humanities.
Names...
place names
Story
telling… history, landscape, place… geography
4.
A sense of place is not the same as a sense of
direction. Both can be enhanced through landmarks
SENSE of DIRECTION versus a SENSE of PLACE
Different ways of visualizing space result in different sense of direction.
A
sense of direction generally implies 3-D space versus 2-D, cookie crumb -- or pearl-necklace space.
A
poor sense of direction can be a handicap that can be partially overcome
Visualization
– picture, in your mind’s eye, where you live LINK
to view west toward Oquirrhs..
Want to improve your sense of direction? For
an entire year, review your
day, spatially, just before you go to sleep. Lie on your back and be aware of the rooms cardinal directions (north, east, south, and west). Imagine yourself in an airplane,
keep north solidly north in your mind's eye, and move through your day as
though you watched yourself from that imaginary airplane. That's one way to
gain a sense of direction... as well as a sense of place... and a good night's
sleep.
5.
The term “place” has a few meanings. For UofU-Geograhy of Utah, place means location with an attitude... meaning, location connected to meaning
Here's
the Mirriam Webster definition, reformatted. On an exam or midterm, could you
discuss the term in your own words and how it applies to
Main
Entry: 1 place; Pronunciation:\ˈplās\; Function: noun
Etymology:
Middle English, from Anglo-French, open space, from Latin platea broad street,
from Greek plateia (hodos), from feminine of platys broad, flat; akin to
Sanskrit pṛthu broad, Latin planta sole of the foot. Date:13th century
1
a: physical environment : space. b: a way
for admission or transit. c: physical
surroundings : atmosphere
2
a: an indefinite region or expanse <all over the ∼>b: a building or locality used for a special
purpose <a ∼ of learning> <a fine
eating ∼>c: archaic: the
three-dimensional compass of a material object
3
a: a particular region, center of population, or location <a nice ∼ to visit> b: a building, part of a building, or
area occupied as a home <our summer ∼>
4:
a particular part of a surface or body : spot
5:
relative position in a scale or series: as a position in a social scale
<kept them in their ∼> b: a step in a
sequence <in the first ∼, it's none of your
business> c: a position at the conclusion of a competition <finished in
last ∼>
6
a: a proper or designated niche or setting <the ∼ of education in society> b: an appropriate
moment or point <this is not the ∼ to discuss compensation —
Robert Moses> c: a distinct condition, position, or state of mind <the
postfeminist generation is in a different ∼ — Betty Friedan>
7
a: an available seat or accommodation <needs a ∼ to stay> b: an empty or vacated position
<new ones will take their ∼>
8:
the position of a figure in relation to others of a row or series especially:
the position of a digit within a numeral
9
a: remunerative employment : job. b: prestige accorded to one of high rank :
status <an endless quest for preferment and ∼
— Time>
10:
a public square : plaza
11:
a small street or court
12:
second place at the finish (as of a horse race)
—
in place
1:
also into place a: in an original or proper position. b: established,
instituted, or operational <systems in place>
2:
in the same spot without forward or backward movement <run in place>
—
in place of : as a substitute or replacement for : instead of
—
out of place 1: not in the proper or usual location
6.
Landmarks are visible signposts… a tried and true
path to a sense of place. Landmarks can be physical,
cultural or both.
LINK
Bowen SLCounty with
UofU. LINK Bowen
SLCounty looking west Note: ESE has permission to use these images in our
teaching. Respect William Bowen's contribution. Go to
William Bowen's awesome digital atlas and find an image perfect for your
understanding of "your" place, meaning don't copy from ESE (this) website but go to his: http://130.166.124.2/utah_panorama_atlas/index.html
How
do you orient yourself, for example, in
When
you are a tourist… what do you want to visit?
When
you are coming home from a trip, what makes you feel that you are getting close
to home?
Physical
landmarks are a way to develop a sense of place. Here are landmarks you might
memorize for
7.
What’s in a name? Name a place, know the name of a place, … connect to that place
According
to some geographers, philosophers, even to some parents…
naming a place, or a person, or a pet is a way to connect. Case history:
family story… not allowed to name a pet … unless going to keep it. Learn
And for the sheer joy of it...
Geographers
name places. We have established process to establish names, and, occasionally,
to remove names. Here are three links if you are curious about the process: Utah Committee on
Geographic Names; USGS official names. Many
people still think geography is mostly about names… place names (states,
capitols, and boundaries) rather than the web of relationships among people,
places and environments. LINK to what is
geography..
Thought
Question: What’s in a name? What is jargon? Why and how do we name places?
My advice: when you want / need to be professional, use
official names ... place names website =
8.
Thought
questions:
Why memorize anything?
Why know where counties are in
If you’re taking Geography of Utah, is it
reasonable to expect you to know where most of
LINK to map of
Utah's counties UGS with names
LINK to
map with county boundaries no names
(No need to memorize county
seats, but here they are LINK)
LINK (not active) to Tim Edgar's game for memorizing county names... thanks, Tim
Also this interactive-map game on the web to name Utah's counties: LINK to the
game http://www.purposegames.com/game/utah-counties-quiz
...
LINK to map of conterminous
USA counties.
But
the underlying reason to learn the names of counties of
Ways
to learn the counties:
1)
Understand them... what they are and how they have changed through
2)
Learn more about them, so they become familiar.
3)
Picture them some way, either as places on a map or as landscapes.
4)
Make connections even ones that are far fetched, so long as they are memorable.
5)
Practice, practice, practice.
for
example... Tim Edgar's interactive exercise:
9. County boundaries and county names have evolved through
LINK to counties of conterminous
USA.
LINK to
map with characterization of Utah’s counties’ boundaries.
Counties
are political entities: regions based on politics... based on legislatin that set political boundaries. They can be compared
in size and power to other governmental entities, specifically nations,
countries, cities and towns. States have power granted by the U.S.
Constitution. Counties in
Thought
questions:
With
respect to a sense of place: examine place attachment to school, city, county,
state for Sandy City in Salt Lake County versus St George in Washington County.
What
are
Classification
of
LINK to Sterner-FermiLab-DEM-Utah-With-CountyBoundaries
used with permission
LINK to
Atwood-ClassificationOfUtahCountiesBoundaries.
(a)
Geographic
coordinates
(b)
Natural
features such as ridges along mountain sides, streams, and combinations of
these
(c)
Boundaries
that follow survey grids, property lines, or settlement patterns
(d)
Arbitrary
boundaries for example, an arbitrary place in a lake that makes sense for
political or other social reason.
LINKS
to maps showing evolution of county boundaries, from BYU/WSU/Greer, Atlas of
Utah, 1850,
1852,
1856,
1866,
1870,
1888,
1896,
1917.
Creer summarizes the evolution of the State of Deseret to the State of Utah in one map.
LINK
– NOT ACTIVE- to excellent video by A. Fisher, UofU geographer --- evolution of state
boundaries --
LDS pioneers settled Utah beginning in 1847. The "Great Basin Kingdom" went to the sea (Pacific Ocean). (LINK
to Creer summary map)...
By 1888,
the state’s boundaries resembled those of today with a few exceptions. The
exceptions provide insight to “place.”
10. Abundant information exists at a county scale for students of
geography of
Here are some links to information about
My all-time favorite LINK to
information about counties is the Utah Division of State History's bicentennial
series on the history (usually some geography as well) of each of
Here
are some other links:
Or
go to the Utah Education Network LINK and search the county
name.
Or
go to Pioneer:
On
reserve at Marriott: Utah History Suite CD with All
29 UtahCentennial County Histories ... and each of the hardback
histories should be in the library stacks.
Or...
Google the county... and link to their web site.
NOTE: MANY OF THESE LINKS ARE NON FUNCTIONAL... but information is easily had by roaming the web.
|
County |
Assoc
of Gvts link to map
|
Wikipedia.
LocationMapCounty Map
|
Image from Bowen - 1/17 troubles |
Image from Hamblin, BYU |
County website |
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Beaver |
5 County |
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Grand |
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Iron |
5 County |
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Juab |
6 County |
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Kane |
5 County |
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Millard |
6 County |
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Morgan |
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Piute |
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Sanpete |
6 County |
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Sanpetetroubles |
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11. Use multiple modes of learning to memorize place names (song, art, kinesthetics, and visualiztion) is one way to connect to places and begin to develop as sense of place about them.
If paths to a sense of
place include: personal associations; multiple associations; associations to
mneumonics; assocations to mental images; associaitons to emotion; associations
to visual images; associations to literature; assocations to song… why not
practice developing a sense of place toward Utah counties using a few of those
paths. See whether paths to place help you learn where the counties are, and
give you creditility vis a vis geography of
PATHS toward sense of
place and
(a)
FIRST AND FOREMOST:
Understanding. Understand the names and locations better, for example, the
historical origins of names: LINK to Association of Counties listing
TRAPPERS:
Beaver, Cache (Duchesne) (Weber)
FRIENDS
OF LDS PIONEERS: Kane
LDS
personages: Davis, Morgan Rich
INDIAN
/ Native American: Juab, Piute, Sanpete, (Tooele),
PRESIDENTS:
Garfield,
GEOGRAPHIC
FEATURES:
RESOURCES:
Carbon, Iron
ECOLOGY:
Box Elder, (Tooele), Beaver
GOVERNOR:
Emery
SURVEYOR:
Daggett
NOT
SURE: Wayne, Tooele, Duchesne
(b)
Make multiple
mental connections
Silly ways to remember
places: Bagley,
SLTribune .
(c)
Visualize
places and counties
Bagley,
SLTribune, LINK
(d)
Sing them!!
This
one is to the tune of Reuben, Reuben:
Beaver, Carbon,
Iron, Uintah, Rich, and
Juab, Box Elder, Grand, Tooele, Sevier, and Emery…
(e)
PRACTICE
practice, practice
UGS-County
map of Utah LINK map with names; LINK map without names
HINT:
no need to memorize the county seats... but here they are, source of this map,
unknown, UGS:
FINAL SECTION OF THIS CHAPTER…
IMPORTANCE --
REMINDER -- UofU Geography of Utah uses a hightly practical definition of IMPORTANCE... does the THEME PLACE impact others of the 15 themes of GeogUT
How
PLACE matters to the physical and human geographies of
LINK to
Sterner-Modified-DEM-KnowWhereKnowWho..
Know
where you are, know who you are.
And
be empowered to lead the life you want to lead… that’s the underlying assumption of UofU
GEOG3600-Geography of
Everything
relates to everything… that is a theme of geography, of Earth systems.
Geography is about webs of relationships. Geography is special because it is spatial. It's about everything.
How
can the web of relationships be visualized?
GEOG3600
studies “the five themes of geography” in part one; the five subsystems of
Earth systems in part two and how they affect social and behavioral issues; and
five themes of social and behavioral sciences. How everything affects
everything can be expressed as a matrix… a 15 x 15 matrix.
To
be specific, and to drill deeper into these effects, use the matrix and
consider causal relationships. The sessions of UofU Geography of Utah march through the 15 themes. .
PLACE
is all about the web of relationships among peoples, places, and the
environment.
PLACE - POLITICS and Utah County vs Salt Lake County.
Could Salt Lake be tagged, "Happy Valley"? Happy Valley is a "construct" a tag put on Utah Valley. What does it conjure up? and specifically to politics?
PLACE - SOCIOLOGY and Coalville and Park City in Summit County... or MOVEMENT.
Consider how place affects migration patterns such as youth headed off to college or to missions.
Mentally explore the relationships of
the matrix web, consider spatial comparisons of
Consider the Power of Place and Sense of Place about Utah
What Sense of Place does the Utah Travel Council wish to project? Why were none of Utah's totally-Basin and Range counties not chosen for exploration and Atlas projects by students of Fall 2014? (Box Elder, Tooele, Juab, Millard, Beaver).
Have
residents of the Avenues of Salt Lake County a different sense of place than
the residents of
UT-15x15-Matrix-Place-Region…
this may not work… this may be an example of a blank box.
UT-15x15-Matrix-Place-Geosphere… Do Utahns who grow up with vistas of the Basin and Range develope a sense of place that differs from than those with the big bold red vistas of, for
example,
UT-15x15-Matrix-Place-Sociology… Do rural kids have, almost by definition, different place attachment to the land than urban kids?
Is there an ap for place attachment?
LIST
of “The 15 Words”
Loc,
Place
Migra
Inter
Region
Geo
Hydro
Atmo
Bio
Anthro
Econ
Demog
PoliSci
Sociol
QLife
SELF QUIZ
By
the end of this chapter… you should:
Know
that the second theme of geography is PLACE. The others are (1) Location, (3)
Migration / Movement, (4) Interaction, and (5) Region.
Be
able to rephrase what Wallace Stegner refers to as “placelessness” in his essay
on >>>>
Be
able to explore your own sense of place.
Know,
in theory, at least five ways to gain a sense of place.
SUMMARY:
PLACE:
know where you are, know who you are.
PLACE
is location with attitude… location plus a sense of attachment
Be
a GEOGRAPHER: Know where you are, know
who you are. Let a sense of place be another way toward empowerment to a good
life… that’s the underlying assumption of UofU GEOG3600-Geography of
NOTES: How to contribute to
this web text?... so many ways including terrific images of place -- labeled,
not copyrighted, meaning, if attribution is lost and you won't care. Of course
I could set out and take these, what fun, but it would be grand if people with
bright eyes, good cameras, well-developed sense of place, caught some terrific
images. Specifically: U Mountain during the day and at night, preferably caught
with lights celebrating a UofU win; the Wasatch Range as background to the UofU
Campus; the US Capitol; Utah State Capitol; Salt Lake LDS Temple; Catherdral of
the Madeleine; St Marks Cathedral; other places of workshp and gatherings
(remember to label your images... of course georeferencing would help but not
required)... Ensign Peak; Red Butte; Grandeur Peak; Mt Olympus from the north
south and west; Twin Peaks; Lone Peak from the north, south, west and east; the
Traverse Mountains from north and south; the Oquirrh Mountains south of the
Bingham Copper Mine, with peaks labeled and must include Flat Top Mountain, the
highest of the range; Bingham Copper Mine; Farnworth Peak from the east, west,
north; "C" Mountain for Cypress High (Thead's Peak); Black Rock;
Antelope Island ... love Antelope Island; the Salt Lake Salient (landform
prominence between Salt Lake and Davis Counties; City Creek Canyon; Dry Creek
Canyon; Cephelopod Gulch; Red Butte Canyon; Emigration Canyon; Mill Creek
Canyon; Olympus Cove; Neffs Canyon; Big Cottonwood Canyon (mouth of; meeting of
glaciers, and upper parts); Little Cottonwood Canyon (mouth of; Temple Quarry;
Snowbird; Alta); Dry Creek; Willow Creek; Corner Canyon; Jordan Narrows; Rose
Canyon; Butterfield Canyon; Daybreak; Barneys Canyon; Coon Canyon; Kennecott
tailings; GSL South Shore Marina)... and that's just for SLCounty. Earth
Science Education believes joy comes from understanding places in
