1.4. Character of Place

Question 1

What are endogenous factors?

Answer 1

Factors that originate from within a place

Question 2

Topography

Answer 2

• the height and shape of the land
• e.g. mountainous regions, steep slopes
• mountainous regions may be suitable for pastoral farming

Question 3

Location

Answer 3

• where a place is
• e.g. rural/ urban area, coast/inland
• a coastal place may be characterised as a port

Question 4

Physical geography

Answer 4

• refers to the environmental features
• e.g. altitude, soil, rock type
• a place could have igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary rocks
• a place rich in natural resources may be characterised by industries

Question 5

Land use

Answer 5

• refers to human activities that occur on the land
• e.g. farming, industry, leisure, residential use
• a place could be thought of as rural if the land use is farming
• high rise, high density buildings

Question 6

Built environment

Answer 6

• refers to the aspect of places that are built by humans

-e.g. infrastructure
- towns and cities have higher density buildings, complex and dense roads and rail networks

Question 7

Demographic and economic characteristics

Answer 7

• refers to who lives in a place and what they’re like
• e.g. age, gender, education level, religion
• many people retire to seaside locations- older people so characterised as ‘old’ places
• economic factors: income, employment rates, types of job

Question 8

What are exogenous factors?

Answer 8

Factors that originate from outside a place to influence the character of place

Question 9

Proximity to other places

Answer 9

• character can be influenced by their relative location to other places
• villages and towns outside major cities can be characterised as commuter settlements
• people live in villages for the nice environment but work in the city where there are greater employment opportunities

Question 10

Inward investment

Answer 10

• flows of investment affect character of place
• e.g. Japanese car manufacturer Nissan has a factory in Sunderland -> flows of people from Japan has influenced some characteristics of Sunderland, including land use around the factory, built environment and type of employment available

Question 11

Tourism

Answer 11

• e.g. land use and economic characteristics of Las Vegas are affected by tourism
• casinos and hotels there for tourists and these create employment opportunities for local people

Question 12

Migration

Answer 12

• e.g. parts of the UK have an ethically diverse population due to migration from other parts of the world
• this gives some places their unique demographic characteristics -> e.g. 27% of the population of Birmingham are of Asian descent