How do the place studies work, and how do we investigate a local and a distant place?
The requirement for a local place study and a contrasting/distant place study; using qualitative and quantitative sources; investigating the development of a place's character, meaning and change; and comparing lived experience across places.
A focused answer to the AQA A-Level Geography 3.2.2 place studies requirement, covering the local and distant place studies, using qualitative and quantitative sources, investigating a place's changing character and meaning, and comparing lived experience across contrasting places.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page
Jump to a section
What this dot point is asking
AQA section 3.2.2 requires two place studies: a local (near-home) place and a contrasting, distant place. You must investigate each place's changing character, meaning and connections using qualitative and quantitative sources, and compare them. This dot explains how the place studies work and how to investigate a place rigorously.
The place studies requirement
Studying two contrasting places lets you apply and compare the topic's concepts (sense of place, insider/outsider perspectives, connections, representation) rather than learning them in the abstract.
Investigating character, meaning and change
For each place you build a picture of:
- Character: the physical and human features that make the place distinctive (built environment, demography, economy, culture).
- Meaning and sense of place: how residents and others perceive and feel about it, including insider and outsider views.
- Change over time: how the place has developed and why, including the players (residents, planners, businesses, government) and the endogenous (internal: location, land use, demographics) and exogenous (external: migration, investment, global flows) factors driving it.
Using qualitative and quantitative sources
Each source type has limits: statistics can hide local variation and lived feeling; qualitative sources are subjective and selective. Recognising this partiality is itself an assessment point.
Comparing local and distant places
The power of the place studies lies in comparison. A local place, known through everyday experience, can be set against a distant, contrasting place known only through sources, exposing how external connections, migration, investment, global supply chains, tourism, reshape places in different ways and at different speeds. Comparison also tests whether the concepts (sense of place, representation, the role of players) apply across very different contexts, which is exactly what the higher-mark questions reward.
Try this
Q1. State the two place studies AQA requires. [2 marks]
- Cue. A local (near-home) place and a contrasting, distant place.
Q2. Distinguish between endogenous and exogenous factors of place change. [3 marks]
- Cue. Endogenous factors are internal (location, land use, demographics); exogenous factors are external connections (migration, investment, global flows).
Q3. Explain why both quantitative and qualitative sources are used in a place study. [3 marks]
- Cue. Quantitative sources give objective, comparable measures of change; qualitative sources capture meaning and lived experience; together they give a fuller, more reliable picture.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of AQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AQA 2020 (style)6 marksExplain how qualitative and quantitative sources can be used together to study a place.Show worked answer →
A 6 mark "explain" question (AO1). Quantitative sources (census data, indices of multiple deprivation, house prices, employment statistics) give objective, comparable measures of a place's demographic and economic character and how it has changed.
Qualitative sources (photographs, oral histories, diaries, art, social media, interviews) capture meaning, lived experience and sense of place that numbers miss.
Using them together lets a study triangulate: statistics show, for example, rising house prices and changing population, while qualitative accounts reveal how residents experience that change (gentrification, loss of community). Markers reward distinguishing the two source types and explaining how combining them gives a fuller, more reliable picture of place character and change.
AQA 2021 (style)9 marksAssess the value of place studies in understanding how and why places change.Show worked answer →
A 9 mark "assess" question (AO1 plus AO2): reach a judgement. Place studies of a local (near-home) and a distant/contrasting place build understanding by combining quantitative data on demographic, economic and social change with qualitative evidence of lived experience, meaning and representation, and by examining the endogenous and exogenous factors and players behind change.
Their value: they make abstract concepts (sense of place, connections, representation) concrete and comparative, and reveal how external connections (migration, investment, global flows) reshape character.
Limits: studies are partial (a snapshot, selective sources, the investigator's perspective) and findings may not generalise. The judgement: place studies are highly valuable for understanding the how and why of change through real, contrasting examples, provided their partiality is recognised. Reward a calibrated conclusion grounded in the two required studies.
Related dot points
- The concepts of place, space and meaning; insider and outsider perspectives; endogenous and exogenous factors; how relationships and connections shape places; and the representation and rebranding of places.
A focused answer to AQA A-Level Geography 3.2.2, covering the concepts of place, space and meaning, insider and outsider perspectives, endogenous and exogenous factors, how connections shape places over time, and the representation and rebranding of places.
- How places are perceived and given meaning; insider and outsider perspectives; the representation of place through media, art, statistics and lived experience; and how representations shape attachment and identity.
A focused answer to the AQA A-Level Geography 3.2.2 content on the meaning and representation of place, covering how places are perceived and given meaning, insider and outsider perspectives, representation through media, art, statistics and lived experience, and how representations shape attachment and identity.
- Globalisation and global systems; international trade, capital flows and migration; the role of transnational corporations; unequal power relations; and the global governance of the oceans and Antarctica as global commons.
A focused answer to AQA A-Level Geography 3.2.1, covering globalisation and global systems, international trade, capital flows and migration, transnational corporations, unequal power relations, and the global governance of the oceans and Antarctica.
- The dimensions of globalisation; the factors driving it including technology, transport, finance and transnational corporations; the global shift; and the lengthening and deepening of global connections.
A focused answer to the AQA A-Level Geography 3.2.1 content on globalisation, covering its economic, social, cultural and political dimensions, the drivers including technology, transport, finance and transnational corporations, the global shift, and the deepening of global connections.
- Urbanisation and its processes; urban forms and social and economic issues; the urban climate and ecological footprint; urban drainage and waste; and strategies for managing sustainable urban environments.
A focused answer to AQA A-Level Geography 3.2.3, covering urbanisation and its processes, urban forms and social and economic issues, the urban climate and ecological footprint, urban drainage and waste, and strategies for sustainable urban living.
Sources & how we know this
- AQA A-level Geography (7037) specification — AQA (2016)