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EnglandGeography

Component 2: Human Interactions - Changing Spaces; Making Places

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How and why do the characteristics of places change, and how are places rebranded and regenerated?

The economic, social, political and technological processes that change places (deindustrialisation, globalisation, gentrification, counter-urbanisation); the role of players in driving change; and the strategies of regeneration, rebranding and re-imaging used to manage it.
An OCR A-Level Geography answer to how and why places change in Changing Spaces; Making Places, covering the economic, social and political processes of change (deindustrialisation, globalisation, gentrification, counter-urbanisation), the role of players in driving change, and the regeneration, rebranding and re-imaging strategies used to manage declining and contested places.
12 min answer →

How are the demographic, socio-economic and cultural characteristics of places shaped by endogenous and exogenous factors?

How places are shaped by endogenous factors (location, physical geography, land use, built environment, infrastructure and demographic and economic characteristics) and exogenous factors (relationships and flows of people, money, ideas and resources), and how these interact over time.
An OCR A-Level Geography answer to how places are shaped in Changing Spaces; Making Places, covering endogenous factors (location, physical geography, land use, built environment, infrastructure and demographic and economic characteristics), exogenous factors (flows and relationships of people, money, ideas and resources), and how these interact to shape the character of places over time.
11 min answer →

How are the meanings and representations of places created, contested and used?

How places are represented through formal (statistical, cartographic) and informal (media, art, literature, marketing) sources; how representations create and contest meaning and identity; and how players use representations to influence perceptions of place.
An OCR A-Level Geography answer to the meaning and representation of places in Changing Spaces; Making Places, covering formal and informal representations, how qualitative and quantitative sources portray places, how representations create, contest and challenge meaning and identity, and how players use representation in place marketing and rebranding.
11 min answer →

How can a local and a contrasting distant place be studied using quantitative and qualitative sources?

The requirement to study a local place and a contrasting distant place in depth, using a range of quantitative and qualitative sources to investigate their character, the lived experience of those who live there, and how and why they have changed.
An OCR A-Level Geography answer to the place-studies requirement in Changing Spaces; Making Places, covering the study of a local place and a contrasting distant place using quantitative sources (census, statistics, maps) and qualitative sources (interviews, photographs, media, art), how to investigate lived experience and place character, and how to evaluate sources for an exam place study.
11 min answer →

What is the nature and importance of places, and how do people relate to them?

The concepts of place and space; the distinction between location, locale and sense of place; insider and outsider perspectives; and the factors that shape how individuals and groups perceive and attach meaning to places.
An OCR A-Level Geography answer to the nature and importance of places in Changing Spaces; Making Places, covering the concepts of place and space, location, locale and sense of place, insider and outsider perspectives, near and far places, experienced and media places, and the factors that shape how people perceive and attach meaning to places.
11 min answer →