‘Images, Ideas, Perceptions and Place Values’

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between ideas, images and perceptions of place.

Focusing on the widely-held perception of ‘Cumbria’ in the public imagination as a place of lakes and mountains, I argue that for West Cumbria to be able to promote itself as a place that is valued for what it specifically has to offer - and not because of its relation to this other Cumbria of the Lake District - it would have to develop a stronger place image that could stand against the exceptionally powerful image of Cumbria AS The Lake District. I introduce this subject as the guiding principle of my work as a research fellow with In Certain Places in West Cumbria.