Interdependence overview

Many of the ideas we have discussed about interdependence highlight the increased interconnectivity of places and how places mutually rely on each other.
The question we consider in today's blog is, does interdependence lead to the distinctiveness of places becoming lost?

To an extent this is true. For example, Americanisation has taken place in many countries, as you can find American fast food outlets in places all over the world. Some have termed this 'McDonaldization'.

Mcdonalds in Israel....

.... Japan

.... Saudi Arabia

Western technology and media have also had an impact on places around the world, in some cases replacing local practices.

For example The Simpsons can be seen in more than 60 foreign countries.

In conclusion, interdependence does appear to blur the distinctiveness of places to an extent. This is an inevitable feature of a being part of a globalised world/community in which places are strongly interconnected. Places that were previously isolated are now part of a globalised world and so they share some features with interdependent, partner places. However, we argue that places still retain their own distinctiveness. Looking back to our previous video blog (cultural interdependence) on the city of Leicester in the UK, we saw that Leicester has huge cultural diversity, with influences from many different parts of the world. But rather than this diversity causing Leicester to lose its own sense of identity, arguably Leicester’s diversity is what makes it unique.

Dan & Josh