Changes in spatial phenomena

pp. 55-103

in: Martina Löw, The sociology of space, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016

Abstract

Based on empirical studies, the third chapter shows that in the second half of the twentieth century, the relation of human beings to spaces and the ordering of the world by means of spaces have undergone fundamental change. Children no longer experience space as enveloping, but rather are socialized in space islands that can be linked in various ways. The complete mediatization of life with new communication technologies makes the constitution of space both virtual and global. Processes of globalization cross-link distant places to become spaces, while at one place, many spaces of different ranges can be spanned at the same time. Even the human body is no longer experienced as a closed container space, but rather as an open system.