2. GLOBAL AND THE LOCAL
• CRITICISES IDEA – that
globalisation leads to
homogenous cultures
• Instead, Urry proposes that
globalisation is still producing
locally distinct societies
• Important to analyse the
interconnections of BOTH local
and global processes – not just
global
3. Social Flows
• Urry analyses the social flows of people, information, companies,
ideas and images
• These flows link to globalisation but don’t necessarily produce
cultural homogenisation
• Examples: global communication (e.g. internet based
communication), mass media which ‘collapses space and time’,
international travel, the English language being widely used and
global politics
4. Appadurai (1990): global cultural flows
• Ethnoscapes: movement of people (tourists, immigrants etc…)
• Technoscapes: movement of technologies
• Finanscapes: movement of money (stock exchanges and markets)
• Mediascapes: mass media
• Ideoscapes: global ideologies
• These flows act upon different locations in differing and unexpected
ways
• The effect of globalisation increases local distinctiveness as different
societies have differing styles and interests
• Globalisation is about “inserting a multiplicity of localities into the
overall picture of a new global system”
5. Transforming history and culture
• Cultural industries in Britain are important in order to maintain
traditions in a modern way – these industries include: music,
television, cinema, publishing, leisure and tourism.
• Example: the de-industrialisation of many towns/cities in Britain in
the 1970’s and 80’s created loss in many ways. Today, many of these
sites have been preserved and transformed into museums. This
attracts tourists/employees and income.
• Local councils invest in tourism projects which attracts
tourists/employers and employees.
6. The de-industrialisation of the North
• Took place in 1980’s
• It led to many derelict Victorian buildings which people prefer to the
unappealing character of modern architecture
• These old buildings are preserved and used as heritage sites – this
highlights how globalisation is not leading to homogenisation
• It is argued that it is not merely that the object/building/site is
historical but it signifies a place and time in history
• “Civic societies” (a group which aims to represent the needs of a local
community) are a key body who aim to keep such heritage
8. History of Lancashire
• Lancashire was where the first industrial revolution took place
• It has a culture and reputation around the manufacturing industry
(textile mills, coal mines and factories)
• Lancashire is surrounded by attractive countryside
• Lancashire has 2 histories: one being factory based industry and one
being mass tourism – these are heavily intertwined
• Mass tourism around Lancashire can be seen through Blackpool
• Both of these industries have heavily declined since the 1980’s and
only recently has it been seen as worthy to visit the urban side of
Lancashire
10. Lancashire
• Liverpool and Manchester have both seen massive increases in
income through tourism and commuters
• Lancashire has ‘repackaged’ it’s history and culture which attracts
tourists permanent residents
• Example: the Wigan Pier Heritage Centre shows how local
communities develop sites on their heritage and history, in an
attempt to re-represent history. This centre attracts over a million
visitors a year
• Hewison: critiques this glorification of heritage sites highlighting how
such history was not glamourous – heritiage distorts history because
of the emphasis put on it
11. Summary
• History and culture have been used in Britain as part of an urban
regeneration strategy
• Conservation acts against globalisation as it minimises homogenous
societies by maintaining local distinctiveness through heritage and
history