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| IDENTIFICATION OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CONCEPT OF PLACE TO BRANCHES UNDER HUMAN GEOGRAPHY |
| ZHOU Shang-yi1, TANG Shun-ying1,2, DAI Jun-cheng1 |
1. School of Geography, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China;
2. School of Geography and Tourism, Qufu Normal University, Qufu 273165, China |
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Abstract One of the significances of cultural geography in geography is providing academic nutrition or analysis method for other sub-disciplines. Based on many articles of place study in Anglo-American journals, this article finds out place is one of core concepts of cultural geography. In the late of 1970s, humanistic geographers, such as Yi-Fu Tuan and E. Relph, introduced the concept of place into cultural geography. Place is an opposite concept to space. A space being given with meanings becomes a place. During 1980s -1990's, place is one of the core themes presented in the journals of human geography. Placeness is the summation of distinctive characteristics in a place. One of main tasks of cultural geography is finding placeness of a place. When cultural geography intersects other branches of human geography, the concept of place can provide analysis way for other branches of human geography. This article points out place study can provide academic support for other branches of human geography in some fields. Firstly, the study of place can support for the research of economic geography that coincident with cultural turn or institutional turn from the late of 1990s. Cultural and institutional factors must be concerned in the analysis of economic activities' spatial process. Different places affect economic activities in different ways. Therefore, place research in cultural geography can give a support to it. Secondly, place study can support the place marketing in regional geography,urban geography and tourism geography. Under the context of economic globalization, all places needs to attract capitals, tourists with unique characteristics. The main aim of place marketing is finding out placeness and building a new image for place. So place marketing is more rely on place study. Thirdly, place study can support for public participation in urban planning or urban geography. Urban planners can understand the attitude of local people in each community with the placness of place study. Fourthly, place study can improve the election strategy in political geography. Political candidates with deep understanding of every election region can match the demands of voters in each election region.
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Received: 05 August 2011
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2011, Vol. 26 
