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Walking the City

Part 1 – Decoding the cultural landscape

Cultural landscape “is fashioned on natural landscape by a cultural group”1 Cosgrove

suggest four perspective of this. Firstly, the dominant culture, created by those who hold
the power within the landscape and therefore can influence culture in a representational
form. Streets names such as Great George Street and King Street portray the reflection of
power and wealth by depicting a strong image of both Bristol and its heritage. In addition,
architecture is a further indication of the dominant culture in the landscape, (Image1), the
key role of academia, education and authority is clearly demonstrated. Territory can also
be identified within the landscape, boundaries and divisions exist, (known as “fault
lines”2 by Storey), particularly around the university but also in the separate areas of
Bristol, such as St Pauls where previous unrest has caused these divisions to develop.
A further perspective is residual culture seen in Brandon Hill Park, where the Cabot
Tower, once perhaps fairly iconic, is covered in graffiti, potentially showing that its
original meaning is now lost. Towards the centre, areas such as Coloston Avenue remain
historical in nature and promote Bristol’s heritage in a tangible form. However in between
the fast food chains and surrounded by three lanes of traffic, statues key to Bristol’s
history are still in place, but tend to go unnoticed. Those such as Edward Coloston,
Chivallon describes this as “one of the most powerful historic symbols of the city”3
however the associated links to the slave trade and the idea that this image damages the
city means that this form of preservation of national heritage is often ignored, despite the
obvious “political and cultural meaning attached.”4
The emergent culture of College Green is apparent, where despite signs (Image2) limiting
activities a culture has developed for this to be the place to meet and showcase
skateboarding talent. As well as this the culture of graffiti and art in Bristol is growing,
Park Street highlights this with a Banksy’s piece (Image3) now becoming an iconic image
of Bristol’s artwork, accepted into society despite initial protests. Johnson states that
“every culture weaves its world out of image and symbol”5 the new culture emerging
around Banksy is growing strongly and rapidly becoming a key part of Bristol’s identity.
Excluded cultures are also seen within Bristol; specifically the slave trade, a culture
which is highly significant historically but is often excluded from modern society, despite
reminders such as road names and monuments. Chivallon states that the road names of
Blackboy Hill and Whiteladies road and their suggested meanings are in fact a myth,
however they still appear in many people’s minds as linked to slavery. Today’s Caribbean
community in St Pauls are direct descendents from slaves,6 it could be argued that this
area “renowned as an ethnic area of Bristol”7 is an excluded culture within the city.
Landscape is “a pictorial way of representing, structuring or symbolising surroundings”
how it is read depends on the individual, their identity and their values.
Words- 493

Image 1 Wills Memorial Building Image 2 Signs Image 3 Banksy

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Part 2- An account of one moment of my walk.

The afternoon silence of Brandon Hill Park is a strong comparison to the hectic city scene
below, the many people, unimportant, blank faces and rushed walks neglect the individual
aspects of the landscape. One building dominates the view, but to the east, near to the
river, houses lie closely compacted, in a structured form, clear divisions, clear boundaries
of property seen from a different perspective up here. The trees and greenery shown in the
limitless space, a quiet oasis hidden for many, but still not hidden from modern day, as a
helicopter flies over head. Walkers stick only to the paths, the lines defining our route, the
space surrounding wasted, left untouched. The faces appear preoccupied, confused, but
the laughter of a child amplifies the sound away from the nothingness of before. The park
is homely, however the feeling of no belonging is clear to many, for it is a public space,
no one can call it their own. I continued to descend from the tower at the peak to the street
below, emerging in to modernity, away from the tranquil peace above. Here more people
appeared, the majority business men, with no time to spare, not even for a smile on
passing. The sound changes from that of leaves crunching underfoot to traffic and voices,
an unnoticed soundtrack to our lives in the city. The walker of this path can not be
described for they differ from one to the next, each with their own rhythm, pace and
intentions.
Words- 250

Walking is highly subjective; it can be used to “get in touch with the paths of previous
writers”8 however unless it is the same path this idea may be quite unrealistic. The theme
of sound throughout my walk is similar to the idea developed by Toby Butler of sound
art. He states that “Modern life, with its multi-sensory bombardment of car engines…the
soundscape of everyday life”9 proposing that sound influences your perception of a place
and a places identity. The sound in Brandon Hill Park was distinctive to that in the city,
which may have influenced my view of the area. Butler suggests we react to the urban
soundscape itself, this may be applicable in the contrast between the city soundscape to
that of the peacefulness of the park. However what is heard may be highly subjective
depending on where an individual’s attention is focused. John Wylie writes of a walker
being “unnoticed”10 this idea can be applied to both the park and the city, the lack of
people in one compared to the crowds in the other meant my walk in both places was
overlooked by others. Wylie references Bachelard who views the woods as being “a
limitless world.”11 The idea of limits and boundaries is related throughout my walk in
that what may appear as limitless may not be, we were restricted to the paths, to the
benches, to the route provided and advised by signs not to behave in certain ways,
therefore the limits were constant.
Words- 249

Part 3- How do both approaches think of landscape as both a process and as a product?

Landscape can be produced from tangible and representational forms, powers within the
landscape dictate what is built and create a landscape reflecting their views and values,
which may become accepted as a reflection of society. However as new cultures emerge,
the landscape may change reflecting this, showing that it is a process by adapting for
different cultures; some aspect may become residual allowing others to grow and
therefore change the landscape.
The approach of non-representational forms suggests more strongly that landscape is a
product of individuals, their views, values and embodiment thus creating a landscape
based on individuals in society and their actions. However this approach may also view
landscape as a process. Non-representational themes such as mood, light and morphology
are constantly changing as are the individuals in question who are affected by external
interferences, therefore the landscape generated by an individual’s viewpoint would
change accordingly.
Words- 147
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1
Sauer, S. (1925), The Morphology of Landscape
2
Storey, D. (2001), Territory. The Claiming of Space, Harlow: Pearson Education
3
Chivallon, C. (2001), Bristol and the eruption of memory: making the slave-trading past visible, Social & Cultural
Geography, 2, pp.347-363, ref. on p. 353
4
Cosgrove, D. and Daniels, S. (eds), (1998), The Iconography of Landscape, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
ref. on p.293
5
Johnson, N. (2002), Mapping monuments: the shaping of public space and cultural identities, Visual Communication,
1, pp.293-298, ref. on p. 8
6
Chivallon, C. (2001), Bristol and the eruption of memory: making the slave-trading past visible, Social & Cultural
Geography, 2, pp.347-363, ref. on p. 351
7
Chivallon, C. (2001), Bristol and the eruption of memory: making the slave-trading past visible, Social & Cultural
Geography, 2, pp.347-363, ref. on p. 351
8
Pinder, D. (2001), Ghostly footsteps: Voices, memories and walk in the city, Ecumene, 8, pp.1-19 ref. on p. 12
9
Butler, T. (2006), A walk of art: the potential of the sound walk as practice in cultural geography¸ Social & Cultural
Geography, volume, pp. 889-908 ref. on p.890
10
Wylie, J. (2005), A Single day’s walking: narrating self and landscape on the South West Coast Path, Transactions
of the Institute of British Geographers, 30, pp.234-247, ref. on p. 237
11
Wylie, J. (2005), A Single day’s walking: narrating self and landscape on the South West Coast Path, Transactions
of the Institute of British Geographers, 30, pp.234-247, ref. on p. 238