Redai dili (Jan 2024)
Using Cultural Flowscapes to Construct a Place Components Framework: A Case Study of Fenghuang Ancient Town
Abstract
Place is a central concept and research object in cultural geography. Analyzing place components is a prerequisite for an integrated understanding of place and a core component of place theory in cultural geography. Previous studies have focused on either spatially fixed or mobile components in analytical frameworks, both of which capture different dimensions of place. However, few studies have considered both the fixed and mobile components and the interactions between them. Based on the classical framework of place components proposed by John Agnew (1987) and coupled with cultural flowscapes, this study proposes a new Analytical Framework for Place Components (AFPC) that reveals the elements of place. Taking the tourist destination of Fenghuang Ancient Town (FAT) as a case study and collecting data through observation and interviews, this study presents a preliminary empirical application of the AFPC. The results suggest that place comprises four components: location, locale, sense of place, and cultural flowscapes. Cultural flowscapes include the interrelated concepts of ethnoscapes, mediascapes, technoscapes, financescapes, and ideoscapes. The AFPC meets the scientific requirements of universality, independence, and application. It reveals the complexity of contemporary places and can be used to guide the empirical analysis of small-scale local characteristics or local specificality. The FAT case study fully reveals the multi-element features and interrelationships between the components. It was found that the location of the FAT is relatively poor, and the land-use pattern is mainly commercial. Social relationships in FAT are mainly commercial, social contact among residents is weak, and the sense of place for the different groups differed, Cultural flowscapes are dynamic and can play an active role in driving change or transformation of the locale of FAT. The locale has a mediating effect on cultural flowscapes. The location of FAT determines cultural flowscapes to some extent and partly affects the locale. Cultural flowscapes, location and locale together shape the sense of place of FAT, and the sense of place in turn gives specific meaning to the other three elements. The theoretical contributions of this study are that the AFPC considers both fixed and mobile elements of place components, and that place components are interactive, which helps enrich the theoretical perspective of place component research and expands the scope of application of place components theory. In practice, the research results can provide practical guidance for decision-makers in tourism destination development and rural revitalization, emphasizing that sustainable local development requires synergy between local and external elements.
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