The Importance of Place and its Relation to Space.
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The Importance of Place and its Relation to Space.
While Space and Place appear closely related, they are not. A place is centered on the social aspect of a certain surroundings while space involves the physical aspect of a particular environment. Space is more of an abstract thing without any sense of attachment or meaning. On the other hand, place relates to the way people connect to a certain space. A place is a meaningful space. An interesting perspective to distinguish between place and space is the thought of the difference between home and house. While a home has people, a house might as well be an empty building. How important cis place in shaping who we are? Arguably, the place we live in, for example, a city and the space people work in workplaces is significant in shaping our culture, norms, behaviors, growth, and development.
According to Badger (2012), in New York, people enquire how much an individual is worth. New York is considered a financial hub/place hence the concern about a person’s worth. However, the question is different in either Boston or Philadelphia. In Boston, the society is interested in what a person knows, the information in their possession. This might be because Boston is more of an educational hub. Considering Philadelphia is a city rich history, Philadelphians may be interested in an individual’s historical linage. Therefore the places we live shape who we are or who we may become depending on the culture and the perception of a place, for example, a city.
In the article, Badger (2012) reflects on mark twain’s perception of the people from Chicago as usually sensible people, and those from Salt Lake City are often referred to as self-reliant people. Although the reference to these groups of people is often made jokingly, there is some truth to it owing to the idea that place shapes who we are and who we become.
McClay (2014) argued that place matters. In his defense, he stated that people connect to specific places because of the environment and the things found in that specific place. These things may include places of worship, recreational facilities, institutions such as schools and hospitals, and even the majority group of people living in a specific place. These things make human beings develop an emotional attachment to a place, a special relationship in which they can detach themselves with in case of absentia of these things. In the event of the disappearance of these things, an individual’s strong affection towards a place fades, and the existing emotional bond to such a place breaks eventually.
Places also give people a sense of identity, unique feelings, and mood (McClay, 2014). The imagination of a beach triggers the mood for rest and the feeling of wind and sand beneath one’s legs. Whereas the imagination of a place full of tall and vast grassland triggers an imagination of upcountry just like a place with skyscrapers, a lot of people, vehicles, and buildings give a sense of a city like New York for example. Therefore, humans identify themselves with such places that set specific moods and even shape a person’s growth and development in the long run.
The importance of a place is often reflected in various works of art, including paintings and even in music. Most musicians identify themselves with places, and some even owe their success and growth to the places they grew up in. Artists create a connection with their audiences through places and their surrounding environments. Sometimes these places may be imaginary or real. Various artistic works, for example, Andrew Yeth’s 1948 painting labeled Christina’s world was inspired by the landscape of a place the vastness of the field in which Christina, a woman who was suffering from a muscle disorder that crippled her, was picking fruits. The place within which viewers can identify with inspired Yeth’s artwork. Additionally, Gordon Matta-Clark, 1974 work of art famously known as “Bingo” is a painting of New York City reflecting the close but several buildings in New York City, the painting reflects a sense of identification with the city space.
According to Grantham (2017), culture is the major link between a space and a place. Culture can be defined as the shared believes, behaviors, and norms of a certain society. Culture is responsible for turning a space into a place because it drives away the emptiness of a space and attracts a meaningful relationship between people living or working in a certain space, say an estate or a workplace. These relationships are what separates humans from animals. They give meaning to a certain space in that culture makes people help each other and drive the utilization of one’s talents and skills in service to the society at large (Nik Mohammad et al., 2013).
In conclusion, place is important in shaping who we are and how we become, which then helps us to shape spaces into places of our own desires. The identity we acquire from the places we live in and work in sets the standards of what we expect in the future and how we can influence others through art, thereby creating a connection with a place. Historical places are one way of connecting to our past through the artwork of ancient places and spaces.
References
Badger, E. (2012). Turns Out Where You Live Really Does Shape Who You Are. CityLab. Retrieved 8 April 2020, from https://www.citylab.com/design/2012/09/turns-out-where-you-live-really-does-shape-who-you-are/3353/.
Grantham, C. (2017). How Culture Can Turn Your Space into a Place. Work Design Magazine. Retrieved 8 April 2020, from https://www.workdesign.com/2017/05/culture-can-turn-space-place/.
McClay, W. (2014). Why Place Matters (pp. 245-251). USA, United States: Encounter books.
Nik Mohammad, N., Saruwono, M., Said, S., Ahmad, W., & Hariri, H. (2013). A Sense of Place within the Landscape in Cultural Settings. In Asia Pacific International Conference on Environment-Behaviour Studies (pp. 506-512). London, UK; University of Westminster.