Spatial Perceptions Research Articles

Human perception of self-motion and orientation during galvanic vestibular stimulation and physical motion

Galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) is an emergent tool for stimulating the vestibular system, offering the potential to manipulate or enhance processes relying on vestibular-mediated central pathways. However, the extent of GVS’s influence on the perception of self-orientation pathways is not understood, particularly in the presence of physical motions. Here, we quantify roll tilt perception impacted by GVS during passive whole-body roll tilts in humans (N = 11). We find that GVS systematically amplifies and attenuates perceptions of roll tilt during physical tilt, dependent on the GVS waveform. Subsequently, we develop a novel computational model that predicts 6DoF self-motion and self-orientation perceptions for any GVS waveform and motion by modeling the vestibular afferent neuron dynamics modulated by GVS in conjunction with an observer central processing model. This effort provides a means to systematically alter spatial orientation perceptions using GVS during concurrent physical motion, and we find that irregular afferent dynamics alone best describe resultant perceptions.

Investigation of the differences in designers' spatial perception in interior spaces using Kokedama

The word kokedama consists of the Japanese words "koke" (moss) and "dama" (ball). Due to its easily accessible materials and easy construction, it has become an application that almost everyone can do, and its use is expected to become widespread. The aim of this study is to investigate the differences in the spatial perceptions of designers who have received basic design education in different faculties in the case of interiors that including kokedama. To measure the differences in spatial perception, photographs of 8 different public interiors were processed and a survey was administered to the subjects. The survey results were analyzed statistically. According to the results of the study, the increase in the value of the perceptibility and simplicity criteria also increases the value of other criteria. As the value of perceptibility and simplicity increases in kokedama applications, the perception of complexity decreases. This data explains that the use of kokedama contributes positively to spatial perception. The criteria that have the most effect when they are together are the structure/identity and perceptibility criteria. The highest scorers on the criteria affecting spatial perception were graduates of the faculty of fine arts, while the lowest scorers were graduates of the faculty of agriculture.

The Impact of Park Environmental Characteristics and Visitor Perceptions on Visitor Emotions from a Cross-Cultural Perspective

Assessing the perception of urban parks and understanding the relationship between environmental characteristics and conflicts in park usage are crucial for the design and management of urban parks. However, quantifying perceptions of parks in large spaces poses challenges, and different regional cultures also exhibit variations in park usage. Therefore, this study aims to explore from a cross-cultural perspective how the environmental characteristics and perceptions of parks affect visitors' emotions. This research collected online comment data from Weibo check-ins in Shanghai and tweets in London between 2022 and 2023. It applied natural language processing (NLP) technology using SnowNLP for sentiment semantic keyword extraction, identifying the sentiment index of each data entry to quantify visitors' sentiments towards urban parks in Shanghai and London. Simultaneously, street view panoramas were obtained for semantic segmentation using the SegNet model and ADE20K to quantify spatial perceptions as independent variables. On this basis, we used nonlinear regression models and MGWR models to explore the relationship between visitors' sentiment values in parks and the park environment. The results showed that walkability in Shanghai was found to more easily bring positive sentiments to visitors, while visitors in London paid more attention to imageability. Walkability, accessibility, and imageability are of the same importance in Shanghai and London, but the correlation and emphasis of visitor perceptions differ, indicating potential conflicts in park usage among different user groups in the two cities' urban parks. Overall, our study offers differentiated planning suggestions that can provide information for urban design decisions, ultimately contributing to the improvement of human well-being.

Visitors’ Behaviors and Perceptions of Spatial Factors of Uncultivated Internet-Famous Sites in Urban Riverfront Public Spaces: Case Study in Changsha, China

This article takes representative uncultivated riverfront internet-famous sites (uncultivated RIFSs) in Changsha city, China, as an example to explore the internal mechanism of their formation and finds that they are closely related to the “urban subculture” and the “informality of urban public space”. In terms of methodology, through questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews, this study investigates the behavioral characteristics of onsite visitors, the overall perceptions and satisfaction of public spaces, and the perceptions of spatial and humanistic elements of visitors. The main findings are as follows: ① Onsite visitors are mainly male, with local tourists and nearby residents accounting for over 80%. Furthermore, over half of the visitors have limited understanding of the uncultivated RIFSs. ② People’s overall attitudes towards the uncultivated RIFSs are positive. And the ability to carry out meaningful activities and find comfort and safety are of the greatest concern to onsite tourists. ③ Among the visiting reasons, leisure stays accounted for the highest proportion, followed by sightseeing, sports stays and social stays. ④ The onsite visitors’ main focus of spatial elements and humanistic elements is different according to the different sites. However, visitors’ dissatisfaction is mainly reflected in poor site safety and sanitation conditions, inadequate facilities and poor surrounding environments. This paper also compares the online–offline differences in the spatial perceptions of the uncultivated RIFSs between this study and previous research; instead of focusing on the urban physical spaces, online social media users pay more attention to their self-presentation. Meanwhile, the visitors place greater emphasis on the functionality, practicality and experiential activities of the urban physical spaces. Finally, this article proposes optimization strategies for uncultivated RIFSs from planning and governance and public space design aspects to protect and strengthen the composite utilization of space, therefore enhancing diverse vitality.

Do citizens’ perspectives matter? A comparison of formal planning and local preferences for the deployment of renewable energies

ABSTRACT The aim of the study is to analyse the extent to which the spatial planning guidelines for renewable energies address the local people’s perception of a sustainable energy transition. Using the example of the municipality of Tettnang in southern Germany, the study focuses on GIS-based visualisations to investigate the spatial intensity to which the overarching formal specifications on land use have been imprinted on the local contexts and what options for alternative spatial concepts are left for the local population to promote the expansion of wind turbines and photovoltaics. In a further step, the methods of participatory mapping and supplementary interviews are used to analyse which spatial perceptions of a spatially balanced energy transition prevail at the local level. The study sample indicates that the specifications of higher-level spatial planning for renewable energies are not so far away from the spatial ideas of the local population as theoretical concepts assume. Rather, a high degree of criterial congruence was found between the interviewees informal and the overarching formal spatial concepts.

Դավիթ Դվնեցու վկայաբանությունը և նրա պատմագիտական արժեքը

The long-term Persian-Arabic rule had a profound impact on Armenian hagiographical literature. The persecutions and ideological pressures of the conquerors compelled the Armenian clergy to devise suitable solutions. In these circumstances, separate martyrdoms were created concerning the conversion of representatives of the conquered peoples. Surhan was also one of the Armenian heroes who was named David after being baptised. It can be recorded that the author of the Martyrdom fulfilled the order of the bishop of Amatunyatsʻ and the Mamikonian princes. This is confirmed by the relic symbols found in the Martyrdom, including the cross and the spear. David's Martyrdom, with its distinctive allegorical structure and plot, nevertheless conveys authentic information about the period of Arab invasions and dominions. The Islamic challenge compelled the author to present David's Martyrdom in a more convincing manner, showcasing novel religious plots and spatial perceptions. The Martyrdom contains numerous references that provide invaluable insights into the economic and political life of Armenia in the second half of the 7th century. The data on the pre-Islamic legal system, in particular the rule of Hudud (Ḥudūd Allāh [God's boundaries]), are also noteworthy.

Comparison of Spatial Perception Regarding the Re-functionalized Industrial Buildings: Abdullah Gül University Sümer Campus

Industrial buildings that conserve their authentic identities and provide cultural sustainability also appeal to the spatial perceptions of users through their old and new usage forms. It is thought that every generation will have different timeframes and experiencing forms in the spaces they are in, based on their own needs, and this is believed to reflect on their spatial perceptions. Accordingly, this study aims to reveal the effect of different generations’ characteristics on their perception of educational buildings converted from industrial buildings and to reflect users’ reactions to the relevant spaces. In this study, the evolving spatial perceptions regarding Abdullah Gül University Sümer Campus, which has been converted as an educational facility from Sümerbank Fabric Factory, were evaluated through the members of the Generation X and Z. This study which employed qualitative data collection and assessment methods was conducted as a particular case study. Furthermore, this study contained the holistic assessment of the physical, functional and psychological aspects of the re-functionalized campus considering the fact that these spaces whose functions were converted to be educational would include differences based on spatial perceptions. The results of this study indicated that Sümer Campus was considered by the Generation X as a location combining the old texture with the new, while the Generation Z assessed the campus as an esthetic formation where the old and new coexisted with contrasts.

Urban Perception Evaluation and Street Refinement Governance Supported by Street View Visual Elements Analysis

As street imagery and big data techniques evolve, opportunities for refined urban governance emerge. This study delves into effective methods for urban perception evaluation and street refinement governance by using street view data and deep learning. Employing DeepLabV3+ and VGGNet models, we analyzed street view images from Nanshan District, Shenzhen, identifying critical factors that shape residents’ spatial perceptions, such as urban greenery, road quality, and infrastructure. The findings indicate that robust vegetation, well-maintained roads, and well-designed buildings significantly enhance positive perceptions, whereas detractors like fences reduce quality. Furthermore, Moran’s I statistical analysis and multi-scale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) models highlight spatial heterogeneity and the clustering of perceptions, underscoring the need for location-specific planning. The study also points out that complex street networks in accessible areas enhance living convenience and environmental satisfaction. This research shows that integrating street view data with deep learning provides valuable tools for urban planners and policymakers, aiding in the development of more precise and effective urban governance strategies to foster more livable, resilient, and responsive urban environments.

Interrelations of Social, Physical and Symbolic Space – Assessing Residents’ Spatial Perceptions of Gentrifying Neighbourhoods with Multiple Factor Analysis

ABSTRACT Adopting a Bourdieusian perspective on the trialectic relationship between symbolic, social, and physical space, we assess how perceptions, evaluations, and expectations towards one’s surroundings interrelate and are associated with social status and physical location. We analyse survey data from two German neighbourhoods undergoing gentrification, arguing that in this process, residents of different class backgrounds and with different expectations towards their residential area live side-by-side. To reconstruct residents’ symbolic space of spatial perceptions, we apply multiple factor analysis (MFA) to several sets of variables on neighbourhood perception, and relate these to residents’ location in physical space (different neighbourhoods) and social space (socio-demographics). We find that differences between neighbourhoods in levels of social cohesion and disorder are the most important dimension in symbolic space, emphasizing the crucial role of social bonds in residents’ perception of their surroundings. Expectations towards neighbourhood change, the second dimension, are strongly influenced by socio-demographic characteristics.

Perception study of urban green spaces in Singapore urban parks: Spatio-temporal evaluation and the relationship with land cover

In the current era of increasing urbanization, urban green spaces play a crucial role in enhancing human well-being. However, quantifying public perceptions from text data at spatio-temporal scales remains challenging, and the relationship between urban green space perception and spatial-physical attributes requires further exploration. This study systematically examines public perceptions of urban green spaces within Singapore's urban parks from 2018 to 2022. Utilizing Twitter data, it applies large language models to conduct textual content analysis related to urban green space. The findings reveal a positive trend, with individuals expressing favorable perceptions and satisfaction towards urban green spaces in Singapore. Specifically, this study demonstrates that people's perceptions of urban green spaces are influenced by vegetation density. Higher vegetation density heightens people's awareness of spatial presence, while shrub and grassland may lead to neglect of urban green spaces as individuals focus more on themselves. Additionally, due to the spatial heterogeneity of the area, there is no clear correlation between all land covers and public satisfaction with urban green spaces in Singapore. The results also indicate a significant decrease in public perception in 2020, followed by a subsequent recovery. This fluctuation is attributed to the substantial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that external socio-political, economic, and public health events can impact public green space needs and spatial perceptions. In conclusion, this study contributes to the understanding of urban green spaces by effectively analyzing textual content extracted from social media data using large language models. The insights gained contribute valuable to the following discussions regarding the planning and design of urban green spaces and urban parks.

Exploring cognitive and syntactic dimensions in a healthcare environment affecting the spatial perceptions of paediatric inpatients

Exploring cognitive and syntactic dimensions in a healthcare environment affecting the spatial perceptions of paediatric inpatients

Reflections on solar energy adoption research: a semi-systematic review

PurposeResearch on solar energy adoption offers a multidimensional scope and warrants exploration from multiple perspectives, including political, economic, management, behavioral, policy and innovation aspects. The aim of this paper is to comprehensively consolidate major research findings on the premise of solar energy adoption and to disclose gaps in the existing literature.Design/methodology/approachA bibliometric analysis of the vast literature is conducted on 1,009 meticulously shortlisted articles following the semi-systematic literature review methodology. A text analytics tool named BibExcel is used for synthesizing the literature, and the results are visualized using Gephi, Pajek and a spreadsheet application.FindingsThis paper reports the evolution of research in the selected domain. It is noted that research in this domain was primarily concentrated on four broad themes, namely, peer effects and spatial patterns, public perceptions, policies and economics and technological evolution. The analysis further reveals the merging of two of these themes as a result of transdisciplinary research and also projects future research trends emphasizing political interventions in technological evolution and diffusion.Originality/valueResearch trends and future research scope are identified and discussed in detail. The information revealed from the analysis, along with the research implications, will assist policymakers in noting the flaws in the current doctrines and practices, entrepreneurs in understanding potential enablers and barriers influencing solar energy adoption and budding scholars in comprehending the current research status and framing promising research objectives to close the existing research gaps.

A NARRATIVE OF < CROSSOVER > INTERSECT > TRAVERSE > NAVIGATE >EXPLORING THE SYNERGY BETWEEN ART AND ARCHITECTURE

The 21st century talks about the processes than that of final object/product and this approach provides a layered experience and understanding involved and eventually the whole world appears about crossover, intersect, traverse and navigate, with this lens lets examine and explore the synergy between Art and Architecture. The dynamic interplay between art and architecture has long been recognized as a keystone of human expression and creativity. This narrative explore into the intricate relationship between these two domains, examining how the concepts of crossover, intersect, traverse, and navigate serve to reinforce their bond and foster new realms of innovation and synergy between art and architecture. In the 21st century, these words have taken on profound significance in various domains, ranging from technology and culture to business and academia. They represent the act of moving across boundaries, whether they are physical, metaphorical, or disciplinary. In the increasingly interconnected and fast-paced world of the 21st century, the ability to crossover, intersect, traverse, and navigate is crucial for individuals, organizations, and societies to flourish. These concepts facilitate innovation, collaboration, adaptability, and resilience, enabling us to tackle complex challenges and grab new opportunities and build up new perceptions and experiences within art and architecture and as a whole.Crossover symbolizes the fluid exchange of ideas, aesthetics, and techniques between art and architecture. It incorporates the breaking down of traditional boundaries, allowing for the integration of artistic elements within architectural design and vice versa. Through crossover, artists and architects find common ground, enriching their respective practices and challenging conventional norms.Intersect reflects upon the meeting point of diverse perspectives and disciplines within the realm of art and architecture. It is at these intersections where ideas collide, giving rise to new forms, spaces, and narratives. Whether through interdisciplinary collaborations or the fusion of contrasting styles intersect serves as a mechanism for creativity and cross-pollination of concepts and provide a fertile ground to grow many more new ideas.Traverse moves into the journey of exploration and discovery undertaken by artists and architects as they find the way through cultural, historical, and spatial landscapes. It encompasses the movement across boundaries, both physical and conceptual, as they seek to go beyond limitations and redefine spatial perceptions and experiences. Through traverse, art and architecture engage in a dialogue with the environment and experience, shaping and reshaping the way we perceive and interact with space and built environment.Navigate emphasizes world as a global village and the strategic navigation of complex socio-cultural-political and economic dynamics and technological advancements that influence the practice of art and architecture. It demands charting a course amongst shifting paradigms, leveraging new tools and methodologies to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of creativity and design. By proficiently navigating through these challenges, artists and architects are better equipped to respond to the needs and aspirations of society while pushing the boundaries of artistic expression and architectural innovation.In conclusion, the conceptual narrative of crossover, intersect, traverse, and navigate serve as guiding principles in intensifying the relationship between art and architecture as a coherent strategy and also emphasized a layered artistic process. They provide a framework for collaboration, experimentation, and adaptation, enabling practitioners to chart new territories of creativity and design excellence and enhance a heightened experience of the built environment. As we continue to pass through the dynamic intersection between art and architecture, we unlock boundless possibilities for transformative spatial perceptions, experiences and cultural enrichment.

Reimagining the Rural Hinterland: an investigation of participatory digital placemaking in rural communities

Rural locations often form a hinterland – geographically and culturally - for large conurbations that dominate a particular region. They are interconnected, sometimes interdependent, but also separated by the social and spatial perceptions of a place. For urban dwellers the hinterland is a place to ‘escape to the country’; for rural dwellers the town is the place of ‘bright lights’. The norms of either location often sit juxtaposed. This sense of place may be constructed from traditional, stereotypical ways of seeing and understanding communities. Digital technology has provided a platform to challenge these norms and provide new ways of representing the physical and cultural landscape of urban and rural spaces. In this conceptual paper we explore digital placemaking in the hinterland of the North-East of Scotland. In this region, the city (Aberdeen) dominates, but it is the rural hinterland that charms. Through an examination of co-created content of rural spaces in this region we consider the role of participatory digital placemaking. Drawing on an extensive body of previous research that has explored community heritage in the North-East of Scotland, we use case studies to consider the ways in which images, iconography and language shape and inform perceptions of the rural space in the digital environment. We argue that this bottom-up approach to placemaking in rural areas can help to shape the way that places are seen, understood, and valued by communities, visitors and wider online audiences. To conclude, this paper reflects on how rural participatory digital placemaking counteracts the urban norm and connects communities across town and country through a reimagined digital hinterland.

Preface

The 9th Light Symposium, December 4-6, 2023 · Stockholm, Sweden Light Symposium 2023: Architecture Lighting Environments - Space With(Out) Light Daylight and electric light are an integral part of our built environment, and the sustainable design of lighting in this context, its presence, absence, and variability over time, requires research and practice that is both trans- and interdisciplinary.Although the presence of light is intimately linked to the life of humans, flora, and fauna, research and practice have not yet fully explored how light and dark can shape the built environment in a sustainable and holistic way.Research and practice into the affects and effects of light combine lighting design with other fields, including, for example, architecture, engineering, computer science, visualization, arts, humanities, social sciences, environmental psychology, health sciences, cognitive sciences, and more. The Light Symposium is an annual, international event to facilitate discussions and the exchanging of ideas; currently, it is coordinated by four academic partners; the Lighting Design Division at KTH in Sweden, Hochschule Wismar in Germany, AAU Copenhagen in Denmark, and SNU Kongsberg in Norway.The 9th Light Symposium, LS2023, was held in Stockholm from the 4th-6th of December 2023; it was hosted by the Architectural Lighting Design Division of KTH Royal Institute of Technology, in collaboration with the Perception Studio of Konstfack, the University of Arts, Crafts, and Design. During the 2,5 days of the symposium, more than 200 participants came together to share and learn about current research and design across different fields within architectural and urban lighting.In addition to invited keynote lectures, the conference program consisted of sessions with talks, panel discussions and poster presentations from researchers and practitioners worldwide, selected through a two-step peer-review process. The conference topics included daylight and electric light in architecture, art, and urban design, organized into four broad categories: Light and Health for all Species, Designing for Darkness, Sensory and Spatial Perceptions, Variability and Rhythmicity.These proceedings include 32 conference papers that were presented either as talks or posters during LS2023. All papers were reviewed by an international panel of reviewers. We thank all reviewers and our partner organizations for their time and help.We also thank the following organizations for their support of LS2023, and for enabling documentation through recordings and proceedings: The Swedish Energy Agency, Bertil & Britt Svenssons Stiftelse för Belysningsteknik, as well as Helvar, Selux, Fergin, Nordic LED, Stockholm Lighting, Annell, Fox Belysning, Optoga.The LS2023 Local Organizing Committee and Proceedings Editorial Team: Ute Besenecker, Foteini Kyriakidou, Gerhard Rehm, Hamidreza Eizadi, Federico Favero, Rodrigo Muro, Johanna Enger, Stavroula Angelaki, Seren DincelList of Reviewers are available in this Pdf.

Situating the light: Methodology for sensory and spatial fieldwork

Sensory perceptions are a novel point of departure for lighting research, where human factors have long been approached through isolated variables and controlled environments. However, informed by philosophy and social sciences and supported by ethnographical methods, researchers and practitioners are gaining new ground in understanding human-environment relations by approaching user perspectives in empirical inquiries. Situating the lighting in spatial settings and sensory experiences is crucial when exploring the dynamics of the changing visual perception of aging and vision loss, and how these phenomena can affect everyday life. Although spatial and sensory perceptions have typically been approached from different positions represented by architects or anthropologists, the following question remains: How can we develop a methodological framework for exploring entwined sensory and spatial experiences? This paper presents the method development process for our upcoming sensory and spatial fieldwork in the project “The role of light when vision changes.” The process is described in autoethnographic narratives, analysis of the technological frames, approaches, and understandings of light represented in the project, and the knowledge gained from testing the developed tools and schemes hands-on in a home environment. The initial findings indicate that both spatial and sensory experiences are interactional, as experiences situated in a specific body interacting with the specific environment it is situated in. Furthermore, in addition to the changes in visual perception, the spatial and luminous characteristics of the indoor and outdoor environments are also dynamic and changing, making the aspects of transitions and thresholds relevant for our upcoming fieldwork. Our hypothesis is that the shared technological frame developed in the project includes the relevant qualitative and quantitative measures that will allow us to make the knowledge of visually impaired participants explicit in ways that will inform and improve future lighting design.

Wemap‐based direction model for individuals with limited spatial orientation skills

AbstractSpatial direction relationships act as links between visually perceived data and natural language in cartography and geographic information systems. Although the existing direction models are able to compute spatial direction relationships, their adaptability to unique users of Wemap, such as individuals with limited spatial orientation skills (ILSOS), is minimal. In particular, the ability to identify locations and directions on maps can pose serious challenges for ILSOS. As such, a Wemap‐based direction model was developed in this study to address this deficiency, specifically targeting ILSOS. To address these challenges, a model for calculating spatial direction relationships was constructed. Subsequently, a questionnaire was administered to verify the consistency of the proposed model with the spatial perceptions of ILSOS. The experimental results demonstrate that (1) the proposed model can calculate the spatial direction relationships between a reference object and source target based on absolute reference frames; (2) ILSOS account for a certain proportion of the population and have a superior ability to distinguish spatial over geographic directions; and (3) the calculation results of the proposed model are consistent with the spatial cognition of ILSOS.

Developing a theory of tranquility in urban public open spaces for future designs

Urban tranquil areas can optimize the urban environment and enhance social well-being; however, a theoretical framework for such areas has yet to be constructed. To establish a clear definition of urban tranquil areas and explore the constituent elements and their interrelationships within the theory of tranquility, this study examines the subjective understanding of urban tranquil areas based on data from interviews with 50 respondents. We generated a theoretical framework for the sense of tranquility in urban public open spaces and defined urban tranquil areas. The five categories of the theoretical framework included tranquility needs, context, perceptions, experiences, and outcomes, which were categorized under sensory and mental perception levels. “Perceptions” was the core category, comprising environmental and spatial perceptions. Positive perceptions of tranquility were easily affected by visuospatial perceptions, while acoustic environmental perceptions easily influenced negative perceptions. Finally, we identified three dimensions of “experiences”: a state of relaxation, a state of calmness and pleasantness, and a state of immersion and concentration. The state of mental relaxation was affected mainly by acoustic environmental perceptions, whereas the other two states were affected mainly by visuospatial perceptions. The results provide a reference for future theoretical and practical work in the design of urban tranquil areas to improve the quality of urban habitats.

Remappings of a Region: Popular Map Images Around and Beyond ‘Southeast Asia’

Our spatial understandings and perceptions are augmented by media representations of spaces. Whilst maps are often studied within the academic fields of geography and art history, their discussion within the context of design and design history remains insufficient. This paper delves into the study of popular maps as cross-cultural design artefacts. This is done through case studies from the perspective of graphic communication, analyzing maps along their symbolic, narrative, and discursive interpretations as well as how they interplay with lived experiences. The period from 1930s to the 1960s saw several events that led to frequent remappings of geo-entities around the loose assemblage of nations that we now know as Southeast Asia, which included the birth of new nations and the forging of alliances. This process of repeated remappings enables an interesting study on the nature of maps, their instrumentalization, and their consumption.

CEHOV ÎN GRĂDINĂ: AVATARURI ALE SPAȚIULUI ÎN CĂLUGĂRUL NEGRU

If he weren't an excellent writer, Chekhov could have been an equally great gardener. The writer reflected on this idea in a letter to Mikhail Menshikov dated February 20, 1900. From the moving descriptions of the hills full of lilac in The Steppe (1887) to the desperate attempts of a family to save their orchard in The Cherry Orchard (1904), nature disturbed or completed by man is a common occurrence in Chekhov’s writing. We will attempt to read Chekhov’s natural space using filters of spatial theory (or its contingents), focusing on the garden in “The Black Monk”. We will strive to understand Chekhov's text through Foucault’s concept of heterotopia, as well as Hone’s interspaciality, while also looking at it through Soja’s theory of the three spaces, derived from the spatial perceptions proposed by Lefebvre, in an attempt to understand the multiple meanings of Pesotsky’s garden.