Unit 1: The Study of Places and Landscapes
THE STUDY OF PLACES AND LANDSCAPES
INTRODUCTION
“Therefore, we often think of going someplace to escape, a place to release our tension, a
place that will help us have a sense of calm. We may call this our "happy place".
Sayed Ahmed
The study of Places and Landscape in a Changing World guides you in understanding
the concepts and dynamics of people and activities from various parts of the world,
describing the locations patterns of human activity, identifying process and patterns with
historical lens, and describing the relationship of the natural environment to the other aspects
of human behavior.
In this unit you will learn about the difference of places and landscapes, types of
landscapes, and the importance of landscapes. When you look into the pictures above, can
you still remember all the places you visited? Maybe you are reminiscing the past and you are
hoping that someday you can visit again your favorite place together with your love ones in
which you can get away from all the problems and relax or meditate to release stress when
life gets too overwhelming.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this unit you are expected to:
1. differentiate places and landscapes;
2. identify the different types of landscapes;
3. give importance of landscapes and
4. share insights about the beautiful places you visited.
Unit 1: The Study of Places and Landscapes
DEFINITION OF PLACES AND LANDSCAPES
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Define places and landscapes;
2. Identify the two categories of landscapes,
3. Explain human landscape or cultural landscape.
ACTIVATING PRIOR LEARNING
What concepts or ideas can you relate in the words places and landscapes?
Write your answers in the graphic organizer below.
Places and
Landcapes
Unit 1: The Study of Places and Landscapes
PRESENTATION OF LEARNING CONTENT
DEFINITION OF PLACES AND LANDSCAPES
PLACE
Place is a unique and special location in space notable for the fact that the regular
activities of human beings occur there. Moreover, because it is a site of such activities
and all that they entail, place may furnish the basis of our sense of identity as human
beings, as well as for our sense of community with others.
In short, places are special sites in space where people live and work and where,
therefore, they are likely to form intimate and enduring connections.
There is growing recognition among urban scholars that place is a central concept in
the analysis of how urban areas are constructed and come to have meaning for their
residents. Furthermore, as the constraints of geographical distance become less
important, the specific features of particular locales are becoming more important in
the locational decisions of businesses and households. The ‘construction’ of place is
also a characteristic of the restructuring of many contemporary cities from being
centers of production (for example, the steel towns of yesteryear) to being centers of
consumption (for example, Las Vegas of today), in the sense that they provide the
context in which goods and services are compared, evaluated, purchased and used.
Places such as London’s Covent Garden or Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco
obtain a distinctive character that not only reinforces the place’s sense of identity but
transforms the locality into an ‘item of consumption’, a process often boosted by city
marketing strategies.
Introduction to the Concept of Place
How do we make sense of a place? Why do different people have a different
conception of the same place? And does that mean it's not the 'same place' as far as
different people are concerned?
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
Unit 1: The Study of Places and Landscapes
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 campsite 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.
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.
LANDSCAPES
- These are visible features found in an area which encompasses all the types of
landforms and the way they are integrated with the available man-made and natural
features. Some of the physical features which are used to define the landforms of an
include hills, water bodies, mountains, rivers, ponds, lakes and the sea. On the other
hand, the human elements include the different forms of buildings, land use, and
structures.
- These are part of the Earth’s surface that can be viewed at one time from one place.
They consist of the geographic features that mark, or are characteristic of a particular
area.
- The term comes from the Dutch word landschap, the name given to paintings of the
countryside. Geographers have borrowed the word from artists. Although landscape
paintings have existed since ancient Roman times (landscape frescoes are present in
the ruins of Pompeii), they were reborn during the Renaissance in Northern Europe.
Painters ignored people or scenes in landscape art, and made the land itself the subject
of paintings. Famous Dutch landscape painters include Jacob van Ruisdael and
Vincent van Gogh.
An artist paints a landscape; a geographer studies it. Some geographers, such as Otto
Schluter, actually define geography as landscape science. Schluter was the first scientist
to write specifically of natural landscapes and cultural landscapes.
Landscapes are divided into two main categories:
Unit 1: The Study of Places and Landscapes
1. Natural landscapes
These are mainly unaffected by human activity and typical to the particular areas of the
world.
They are made up of a collection of landforms, such as mountains, hills, plains, and
plateaus. Lakes, streams, soils (such as sand or clay), and natural vegetation are other
features of natural landscapes. A desert landscape, for instance, usually indicates sandy
soil and few deciduous trees. Even desert landscapes can vary: The hilly sand dunes of
the Sahara Desert landscape are very different from the cactus-dotted landscape of the
Mojave Desert of the American Southwest, for instance.
People and the Natural Landscape
The growth of technology has increased our ability to change a natural landscape. An
example of human impact on landscape can be seen along the coastline of the
Netherlands. Water from the North Sea was pumped out of certain areas, uncovering the
fertile soil below. Dikes and dams were built to keep water from these areas, now used for
farming and other purposes.
Dams can change a natural landscape by flooding it. The Three Gorges Dam on the
Yangtze River, in Yichang, China, is the world’s largest electric power plant. The Three
Gorges Dam project has displaced more than 1.2 million people and permanently altered
the flow of the Yangtze River, changing both the physical and cultural landscape of the
region.
Many human activities increase the rate at which natural processes, such as weathering
and erosion, shape the landscape. The cutting of forests exposes more soil to wind and
water erosion. Pollution such as acid rain often speeds up the weathering, or breakdown,
of the Earths rocky surface.
By studying natural and cultural landscapes, geographers learn how people’s activities
affect the land. Their studies may suggest ways that will help us protect the delicate
balance of Earths ecosystems.
2. Human landscape or Cultural Landscape
A landscape that people have modified is called a cultural landscape. People and the
plants they grow, the animals they care for, and the structures they build make up cultural
landscapes. Such landscapes can vary greatly.
The World Heritage Committee of UNESCO (the United Nations Economic, Social, and
Cultural Organization) defines a cultural landscape in three ways.
The first is a clearly defined landscape designed and created intentionally by man. The
Archaeological Landscape of the First Coffee Plantations in the South-East of Cuba, near
Santiago, Cuba, is an example of this type of cultural landscape.
Unit 1: The Study of Places and Landscapes
The remains of the 19th-century coffee plantations in the foothills of the Sierra Maestra are
unique evidence of a pioneer form of agriculture in a difficult terrain. They throw
considerable light on the economic, social, and technological history of the Caribbean and
Latin American region.
The First Coffee Plantations in the Southeast of Cuba is a cultural landscape illustrating
colonial coffee production from the 19th to early 20th centuries. It includes not only the
architectural and archaeological material evidence of 171 old coffee plantations or cafetales,
but also the infrastructure for irrigation and water management, and the transportation
network of mountain roads and bridges connecting the plantations internally and with coffee
export points.
The second type of cultural landscape is an organically evolved landscape. An organically
evolved landscape is one where the spiritual, economic, and cultural significance of an area
developed along with its physical characteristics.
The Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape, along the banks of the Orkhon River in Central
Mongolia, is an example of an organically evolved landscape. The Orkhon Valley has been
used by Mongolian nomads since the 8th century as pastureland for their horses and other
animals. Mongolian herders still use the rich river valley for pastureland today.
Unit 1: The Study of Places and Landscapes
The 121,967-ha Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape encompasses an extensive area of
pastureland on both banks of the Orkhon River and includes numerous archaeological
remains dating back to the 6th century. The site also includes Kharkhorum, the 13th- and
14th-century capital of Chingis (Genghis) Khan’s vast Empire.
The Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape (OVCL) lies in the central part of Mongolia, some
360 km southwest of Ulaanbaatar. The archaeologically rich Orkhon River basin was home
of successive nomadic cultures which evolved from prehistoric origins in harmony with the
natural landscape of the steppes and resulted in economic, social and cultural polities unique
to the region.
The last type of cultural landscape is an associative cultural landscape. An associative
landscape is much like an organically evolved landscape, except physical evidence of
historical human use of the site may be missing. Its significance is an association with
spiritual, economic, or cultural features of a people.
Tongariro National Park in New Zealand is an associative cultural landscape for the Maori
people. The mountains in the park symbolize the link between the Maori and the physical
environment.
Unit 1: The Study of Places and Landscapes
Tongariro became New Zealand’s first national park in 1887. Just over one hundred years
later, the park was awarded dual UNESCO World Heritage status for both its cultural
significance to the Māori people, as well as its outstanding natural features.
The 80,000-hectare park is a spectacular showcase of volcanic wonders including emerald
lakes, old lava flows, steaming craters, colourful silica terraces and peculiar alpine gardens. It
is an environment of staggering beauty and diversity.
APPLICATION
Identify a place you have visited. Paste a picture of it on the box below and make a
simple description of that place (4 to 5 sentences can do).
Unit 1: The Study of Places and Landscapes
Your description here:
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FEEDBACK
Directions: Read the following statements provided below and identify what is asked
by the statements. Write your answer on the space provided before each number.
________1. It refers to a special site in space in which people live, work and likely to form
connections. Place
________2. It describes where a place is on a map. Location
________3. These are visible features found in an area which encompasses all the types of
landforms, it can be natural or man-made. Landscape
_________4. He was the first scientist to write natural landscapes and cultural landscapes.
Otto Schluter
________5. These landscapes are unaffected by human activity and typical to the particular
areas of the world. Natural
________6. A landscape modified by humans. Cultural
________7. The World Heritage Committee which defines a cultural landscape in three ways.
UNESCO
________8. A type of landscape where the spiritual, economic, and cultural significance of
an area developed together with its physical characteristics. Organically evolved landscape.
________9. This type of cultural landscape is an association of spiritual, economic, or
cultural features of a people. Associative cultural landscape
________10. Archaeological Landscape of the First Coffee Plantations in the South-East of
Cuba is an example______________. Designed and created intentionally by man
Unit 1: The Study of Places and Landscapes
REFERENCES
Duka, C. 2010. World Geography. pp.53-59
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/landscape/
https://www.oup.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/58025/
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/landscape/
whc.unesco.org
http://www.bordersouthwest.com/types-of-landscapes/
