Review article
Places and Non-Places in Contemporary Conceptualizations of Space
Sara URSIĆ
; Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar, Zagreb
Abstract
Globalization, urbanization and technological development
are the processes that create new phenomena and new
structures in social life, changing the meaning of a place
from concrete and symbolic anthropological place into non-
-place as a space deprived of identity, history or relation.
Fast-food restaurants, shopping malls and airports are
places that are part of everyday modern life. The main
similarities that connect those places are uniform
architecture, commodification and their transit character, also
representing the key features of the 21st century:
acceleration, abundance in everything and shrinking effect.
Fast life and excessiveness of events, products, information and choice make the world so small that it can fit a week
holiday. This article explores a theoretical frame which
connects Saskia Sassen’s global city theory, Marc Auge’s
theory of supermodernity and Manuel Castells’ theory of
space of flows, illustrating the emergence and development
of non-places as a contemporary urban space phenomenon.
The article reexamines placelessness and non-places as
symbols of contemporary comprehension of place as well as
changes in the conceptualization of place.
Keywords
globalization; global city; non-places; placelessness; excessiveness
Hrčak ID:
45803
URI
Publication date:
29.12.2009.
Visits: 6.143 *