Space and Place by Yi-Fu Tuan is a book that provides the readers with a thought process technique with a contrast of concepts of space and place. Tuan’s account is an opportunity for the readers and in particular for the designers and planners of space and place to understand the philosophical implication of the concept of space and human geography. The study indicates the significant aspects of geography, anthropology and most important the interpretations are in the context of architecture.
Tuan elaborates the relation between the concept of place and space with the aspect of future and attainment of a person’s goal. The attainment of the goal of people is directly related to the ways a person posses the place and makes a significant property of space. Tuan had managed to describe the relationship between design and space. In particular the philosophy that had been put forward by Tuan is that the discourses of the planners and design implementation must in comprehend the significance of a human’s belonging to space and place (Tuan, 2001).
Tuan had researched and concluded that the sense of belonging comes forward and thus a person concludes the space to be home. There is no concept of hominess rather it is the sense of relationship of belonging of a human to a particular space. Tuan had used relationship interchangeably with familiarity. Human’s familiarity with the space or place is same as a familiarity with any person at large. It is thus to be focused by the planners and designers to give birth to structures and articulated places by analyzing the fact that how intimate a person is with the his belongings and how much does he opens to his stimuli. The philosophy is to be implemented for sure because the real sense is the familiarity otherwise nothing in the world exits as home (Tuan, 2001).
Another important statement by Tuan that could be interpreted and implemented is that the notion of understanding of a person with his environment also plays a greater role in making the space and place more exacerbated. A designer or planner may find all this philosophy as a burden because it reveals personal attributes of a family that results in making the task unprofessional and professional at the same time (Tuan, 2001).
Critics believe that too much focus on different aspects of human geography and hominess with space and place counters the mode of research and imposition of findings. Thus Tuan also helps in solving complexities of the designers and planners that the world will be too complex as more and more complex time comparison is done with human geography. If a human experience is to be compared with world then it will appear as human is the more simplistic form of living. Planners can study human geography by large by making sure that there is no imposition of self-findings (Tuan, 2001).
The concept of imposing self researched findings on the basis of proximity is burden of awareness. Another lead to this philosophy by Tuan explains that learning more about human geography with respect to their intimacy and sense of familiarity may appear to the planners and designers as burden of awareness (Tuan, 2001).
Yi-Fu Tuan has not only expressed the need of understanding the sense of belonging and familiarity of one person with his environment space and place he dwells to be housed. Tuan also describes the need and importance of understanding the concepts of biological need of a person. The task and goals of a person is achieved when he tends to achieve proximity of nearness to comforts in the way of his lifestyle. The status of nostalgia and veneration also contributes greatly when space and place is discussed because they are not attained behavior and thus in this way this status directly affects the way of living and space (Tuan, 2001).
Tuan had taken space and place into consideration with his philosophy by comparing and projecting them in terms of space as a container and then elaborating how could it affect the way a human would live. Mobility of human also changes the way a person becomes easily familiar with his surroundings and space in particular. Tuan had provided a great deal of examples and concepts to explain his subtle philosophy. Spatial ability is a concept that needs to be understood more widely because our ability to fit in the space with the help of interpersonal relationships with other members of the society (Tuan, 2001).
The philosophy by Yi-Fu Tuan has its significance that benefits both for the human attained space and planner to give it a structure. Critics have claimed the philosophy to be burden of awareness in a nutshell but not a single account and statement by Yi-Fr Tuan seems to be incorrect or against the notions of human understanding with space and place. The philosophy teaches the planners and designers about the significance of human geography in the aspect of spatial ability. The philosophy of Tuan is thus reflecting the real meaning of human life pertaining to his biological and mobility needs.
Reference List
Tuan, Y. (2001). Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience. Minnesota: U of Minnesota Press.
