Spatial Theory Research Articles

Henri Lefebvre and the spatial revolution that never ends: Towards the reconciliation of anarchist and Marxist approaches in geography?

AbstractIt is widely accepted that Henri Lefebvre's Marxism had anarchistic traits, but few have tried to specify what these traits are, or what they mean. This paper argues that Lefebvre's work should be seen as first and foremost an anti‐authoritarian theory that uses space, rather than a spatial theory. Written from a position that refuses to be either just ‘Marxist’ or just ‘anarchist’, this paper makes a claim to the possibility of a radical geography that can engage with and beyond both.

Diversity in perceptual, social, and executive functions in preschoolers from Germany and Iran

The cultural background and age shape the cognitive and social development of children. This study aimed to compare perceptual, executive, and social functioning in two age groups of preschoolers from Germany and Iran. One hundred sixty-five children (83 Iranian and 82 German) participated in the study, with 87 children aged three years and 78 children aged four years. The participants completed a series of tasks to assess different cognitive functions, including the theory of mind as a measure of social cognition, picture mental rotation test to evaluate spatial ability, and several tests including digit span, Corsi block tapping, day-night, grass-snow, dimensional change card sort, and active and passive vocabulary tests to assess executive functions. The findings revealed that German children performed better than their Iranian peers regarding spatial ability and theory of mind. Additionally, German children outperformed Iranian children in working memory, cognitive flexibility, and verbal fluency, while Iranian children demonstrated better inhibitory control. Furthermore, the correlational analysis indicated that in German children, executive function correlated with the theory of mind, whereas in Iranian children, executive function was associated with perceptual functions. Age impacted the results. These results highlight the role of cultural factors in shaping cognitive functioning and emphasize the need to consider cultural influences when examining cognitive development in different populations.

Understanding placemaking in the context of spatial planning: insights from a literature review

ABSTRACT Placemaking has been struggling to find its “place” in the spatial planning discourse for several decades. From the beginning of the 21st century, it has gained considerable momentum, expressed via a plethora of approaches and practices. It has become a kind of global movement, an academic discipline, a field, a discourse, a process, and a tool. Acknowledging the evolving shift in spatial planning thought and its several implications for the future of cities, the paper attempts to shape an understanding of placemaking via extended bibliographic research in the field of spatial planning. The aim is to add to the apprehension of the term by unearthing, combining, and presenting various authors’ perspectives and taxonomies to describe the nature of placemaking. Important documents on placemaking and the most recent additions are studied. Correlations and links between the evolutionary trajectories of placemaking and spatial planning theory reveal that they diachronically form intricate relationships.

Konsep Tata Ruang Goa Gajah dan Kolam Patirthan Berdasarkan Arsitektur Tradisional Bali

The aim is to find out the application of the spatial layout of Goa Gajah and the Patirthan pond based on traditional Balinese architecture and to find out the relationship between Goa Gajah and the Patirthan pond reflected in the function of the building. The research method is qualitative with inductive reasoning. Data collection was carried out using literature studies, observations, interviews and documentation studies. The collected data was processed using spatial character analysis, contextual analysis and qualitative analysis supported by spatial theory of traditional Balinese architecture and architectural function theory. The results of the research concluded that Goa Gajah and the Patirthan pond were identified as being based on traditional Balinese architectural spatial concepts, namely; Tri Hita Karana; Tri Angga and Tri Loka; and orientations. Analysis of the relationship between Goa Gajah and the Patirthan pond also implies a philosophical relationship between mountains and the sea. The activities at Goa Gajah and the Patirthan pond clarify the relationship between buildings, and represent the building as a social environment for ascetics.

PENGARUH PENERAPAN COURTYARD PADA KAFE KINERUKU TERHADAP KENYAMANAN PENGUNJUNG

Green Open Space (RTH) is an open area that allows plant growth both naturally and through deliberate planting. The existence of green open space is now an important thing to have in a public interior facility, one of which is the application of a courtyard. Therefore, it is necessary to increase public awareness and understanding regarding the importance of utilizing green open spaces, especially in public facilities. This research aims to investigate the effect of courtyard implementation on the comfort level of visitors at a cafe located in Bandung, Indonesia. This research will apply the use of descriptive qualitative methods with a phenomenological approach and spatial atmosphere theory. This research will use field observation techniques, physical documentation and interviews with visitors. The results of the research will show conclusions about the comfort of Kineruku cafe visitors regarding the implementation of courtyards in cafes. The results of this research are information regarding the comfort level and preferences of visitors regarding the application of courtyards in cafe interiors in the city of Bandung. It is hoped that this research can provide a valuable insight that align with the Bandung City Government's commitment to maintaining green open spaces (RTH), namely the Draft Regional Regulations on Regional Spatial Planning (RTRW) for the City of Bandung 2022-2042.

The Local Welfare State and Differences in Racialized Poverty

ABSTRACT Researchers concerned with the U.S. welfare state have documented that more localized administration allows for greater geographic variation in public policies as well as the greater potential for racial discrimination to influence policy outcomes. I explore whether key attributes of the local welfare state, capacity and spending, are associated with differences in racialized poverty across localities. I develop a conceptual framework drawing on two sociological traditions: spatial inequality framework and local welfare state theory. Spatial inequality scholarship provides a framework for interrogating why poverty varies across localities and racialized groups. Local welfare scholarship conceptualizes the processes by which local governments impact poverty and how those processes may be highly racialized. Drawing on data from the Census of Governments, I examine all local governments’ capacity and spending across counties in the U.S. and their association with poverty rates among white, Black, and Hispanic populations. I find that local governments’ capacity and spending do matter to understanding differences in racialized poverty. Specifically, racialized groups perceived as more deserving are likely to be the beneficiaries of local government interventions and policies. This study calls for greater attention to the local welfare state as a possible mechanism maintaining racial stratification.

Mid-career outcomes of doctoral graduates from German universities explained through triadic thought

ABSTRACT This article critically examines the early career experiences and mid-career outcomes of domestic and international doctoral graduates from public German universities in the social sciences and humanities over two decades. We develop triadic thought as a spatial theory to conceptualise professional careers as situated coproductions in the complex interplay of career considerations, career praxis, and career environments. Drawing on qualitative interviews and the analysis of mid-career outcomes, our theoretically informed findings identify three formative influences on career decisions: first, the discursive normalisation of an academic career; second, the practical normalisation of shifting career goals; and third, the material normalisation of a public sector habitus. To mitigate the reinforcement of a congested academic labour market and striking tensions between individual career challenges and systemic benefits of temporary jobs for institutional and national productivity, we encourage a Bologna-style reform to create compatible academic career structures within Europe.

Revitalization of urban industrial heritage from a perspective of spatial production theory: the case study of “Old market” project

ABSTRACT The renewal of urban industrial heritage brings many benefits, meanwhile facing challenges, and there is a lack of in-depth and specific case study analysis. Based on spatial production theory, this paper takes an iconic project as an example to explore its construction process and reveal the spatial and social changes it triggers. This case study investigates the changes in physical and social spaces resulting from the shift in the subjects of spatial production. By analyzing document data, spatial data, and field data, the following key findings and conclusions are obtained: 1) Capital led the regeneration process, transformed decaying factory buildings into consumer space, and activated the economic vitality of the area. 2) The construction of the physical space changed the spatial layout, structure and function that attracted the creative community and young visitors, changing daily lives of the space users. 3) However, the neglect of industrial culture and participation of nearby residents are obvious challenges. The results indicate that using spatial production as a theoretical analysis framework helps us fully understand the challenges faced in the renewal of urban industrial heritage projects. This study can provide a reference for small-scale urban heritage renewal projects, facilitating accurate decision-making.

The Multiple Dimensions of Space: Spatial Narrative Types and Socio-Cultural Mapping in New Century Chinese Novels

This study explores how spatial narratives in new-century Chinese novels reflect and engage with China's rapidly changing socio-cultural landscape. Since the mid-1990s, China's accelerated marketization and globalization have profoundly altered traditional lifestyles and public aesthetics, significantly influencing literary creation. How do contemporary Chinese novelists employ spatial narratives to represent these changes, and what insights do these narratives offer into modern Chinese society? Employing textual analysis grounded in Lefebvre's spatial theory and Soja's Thirdspace concept, this paper examines the manifestations and functions of physical, psychological, and social spaces in new-century Chinese novels. Findings reveal diverse and complex spatial narratives: fragmented physical spaces reflecting globalization's impact, psychological spaces highlighting identity recognition anxiety, and social spaces exposing modern society's alienation and class disparities. This study contributes to a deeper application of spatial narrative theory in Chinese literary research, offering new analytical tools for understanding modern literature and its reflection of social changes. It provides insights into the characteristics and trends of new-century Chinese social culture, promoting further research and theoretical development in related fields.

Universities as cities of flows: decoding cross-regional university partnerships for sustainable development in China

PurposeThe study conceptualises universities as “cities of flows” to examine the East-West University Partnership (EWUP) in China, which is a pioneering initiative of cross-regional university collaboration linking over 220 institutions across China since 2001. The study explores the strategic enhancement of connective and collaborative capacity of universities to facilitate diverse flows of talent, knowledge and other resources within the broader context of China's sustainable development in higher education.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs a qualitative single-case study design to investigate the EWUP within its real-life context using participant observation and documentary research. As an analogical inquiry, the study merges the insider and outsider perspectives of the researchers to identify patterns between theoretical constructs and empirical evidence.FindingsThe EWUP as a policy entrepreneurship has significantly contributes to coordinated, inclusive and sustainable development. Its spatial dynamics consists of structural, temporal and collaborative dynamics. They are characterised by centrality, connectivity and adaptability which are generated through the interplay among the nodes, linkages and fields of influence within the EWUP network. These dynamics showcase EWUP as a novel approach to managing long-term university partnerships between more and less developed regions.Originality/valueThe study reimagines universities and higher education systems through vivid analogies of cities and transportation networks and elucidates connectivity as a pivotal dimension of sustainability. It advocates for reexamining spatial theories in higher education, deepens insights into the dynamics of cross-regional university partnerships in coordinating educational and territorial development, and enriches discussions on Higher Education for Sustainable Development (HESD).

“And the Earth Spoke to Him”

Abstract This article explores the relationships between the various locations in which divine revelation takes place in the Cologne Mani Codex, employing insights from spatial theory and ecocriticism. It argues that the text emphasizes the possibility of revelation from multiple sources, both worldly and otherworldly, and that the accounts of revelation throughout the text can be understood within ongoing apocalyptic discourses in antiquity about natural revelation, raptures, otherworldly journeys, and worldly missions.

Travel patterns and spatial structure: understanding winter tourism by trajectory data mining

ABSTRACT Mining tourists’ spatiotemporal patterns are fundamental for comprehending and applying spatial structure theories in tourism research. This study mines 27,981 tourist-generated trajectories in Beijing winter tourism to reveal the spatiotemporal patterns and spatial structures using a framework combining similarity measures and improved density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise algorithm. The findings indicate that Beijing winter tourism has established a spatial structure consisting of “three poles-two axes-two secondary poles.” A total of 50 popular routes and 12 patterns of winter tourism can be categorized into three main types and six subcategories: winter tourism leading (skiing oriented, skating oriented), winter tourism with sightseeing (urban snow scene sightseeing, mountain snow scene sightseeing), and winter tourism with leisure (skiing + hot spring therapy, skating + city walking). The findings demonstrate that identifying spatial structures through tourism pattern mining is scientific and feasible. This study examines the movement patterns of tourists to reveal tourism spatial structure and incorporates spatial geography theory to assure the accuracy and scientific validity of the identification process, which enables a comprehensive knowledge of the spatial structure of Beijing's winter tourism industry and broadens the application scenario of spatial geography theory in the era of big data.

A Cursed Circle: Confronting Patriarchal and Colonizing Legacies in Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic

Abstract: In Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic (2020), the Doyle family home of High Place is a living, breathing structure. The home indelibly retains memories of dead women within its walls that it uses to communicate with the novel's protagonist, Noemí Taboada. Moreno-Garcia uses this supernatural home to address legacies of violence against women and minorities by staging the colonizer-colonized relationship for Noemí in areas of the home that are typically viewed as feminine or private, intimate spaces. She furthers this discussion by reshaping a typically European genre for a new audience while critically examining a contentious period of Mexico's history. Through an intersection of spatial theory, postcolonial theory, and ecocriticism, this essay analyzes the way Moreno-Garcia constructs a haunting domestic space to confront patriarchal and colonizing legacies that are often suppressed in cultural and literary memory.

Lost, Exile and Return—An Analysis of Sheona’s Identity Reconstruction in “Sisters” from the Perspective of Spatial Theory

Lost, Exile and Return—An Analysis of Sheona’s Identity Reconstruction in “Sisters” from the Perspective of Spatial Theory

LOST AT SEA: MARITIME MODERNITY AND THE NEGOTIATION OF IDENTITY IN THEODOR STORM'S ‘HANS UND HEINZ KIRCH’

ABSTRACTThis article explores the depiction of the sailor and the conflict between bourgeois life and its fluid ‘other’ in Theodor Storm's novella ‘Hans und Heinz Kirch’ (1883). The analysis brings together spatial theory, in particular Deleuze and Guattari's understanding of ‘smooth’ and ‘striated’ spaces, and reception aesthetics. Next to the ‘smooth’, fluid border of the ocean, the article identifies other in‐between areas which play a central role in the novella as spheres of negotiating story and identity: the sailor's skin as the border between self and other; and the omissions of language and narration. It argues that the many ‘Leerstellen’ of the text correspond to the openness of the sea and open up to a ‘travelling’ reading. Readers are invited to actively explore the open spaces and ambiguities of the text and thus contribute to the production of meaning. Placing Storm's novella in the context of maritime modernity and regarding correspondences between the narrative discourse and the conflict between ‘smooth’ and ‘striated’ space, this article offers a new perspective on Storm.

Navigating Public Urban (Green) Space – An Analysis of Ethnic “Other” Women’s Walking Activities in Denmark

Globally, walking is the most popular leisure time physical activity (LTPA) among adults. Yet, navigating public spaces might pose distinct challenges for ethnic “Other” women, whose bodies and veiling practices have come under scrutiny in Western societies. Based on an ethnographic study of a walking group with ethnic “Other” women living in a deprived area of a Danish city, this article explores how the women negotiated being physically active in urban (green) space. Drawing on Lefebvre’s spatial theory, we paid particular attention to the boundaries and norms that characterized the social space of the walking group. Contrary to other activities, walking in a group with other women appeared as an accessible form of LTPA during which participants could practice self-care and preserve “embodied respectability.” Our analysis emphasizes women’s agency in appropriating urban green spaces, whilst also revealing how age, (dis)ability and, particularly, gender and cultural norms regulate their leisure practices.

Correctness Comparison of ChatGPT‐4, Gemini, Claude‐3, and Copilot for Spatial Tasks

ABSTRACTGenerative AI including large language models (LLMs) has recently gained significant interest in the geoscience community through its versatile task‐solving capabilities including programming, arithmetic reasoning, generation of sample data, time‐series forecasting, toponym recognition, or image classification. Existing performance assessments of LLMs for spatial tasks have primarily focused on ChatGPT, whereas other chatbots received less attention. To narrow this research gap, this study conducts a zero‐shot correctness evaluation for a set of 76 spatial tasks across seven task categories assigned to four prominent chatbots, that is, ChatGPT‐4, Gemini, Claude‐3, and Copilot. The chatbots generally performed well on tasks related to spatial literacy, GIS theory, and interpretation of programming code and functions, but revealed weaknesses in mapping, code writing, and spatial reasoning. Furthermore, there was a significant difference in the correctness of results between the four chatbots. Responses from repeated tasks assigned to each chatbot showed a high level of consistency in responses with matching rates of over 80% for most task categories in the four chatbots.

Revisiting the Spatial Cycle: Intra-Regional Development Patterns and Future Population Dynamics in Metropolitan Athens, Greece

Being intertwined with economic development, urbanization determines the present and future development path of regions and countries. The intimate relationship between urban expansion and economic development is of particular interest in the case of large regions with complex (and mostly non-linear) socio-demographic dynamics and a relevant primacy in the metropolitan system of a given country. Typical examples of advanced economies with settlement systems characterized by a high degree of city primacy are peripheral and disadvantaged European countries such as Portugal and Greece. For instance, the administrative region of Attica—centered on Athens, the Greek capital city—represents the largest metropolitan area of the country, hosting almost 3.8 million inhabitants in 2021 (36.2% of the Greek population). In this context, this study investigates the internal redistribution of the resident population in metropolitan Athens and the progressive development of satellite cities over a relatively longtime interval, testing the assumptions of the Spatial Cycle Theory (SCT) between 1951 and 2021 and predicting future development paths up to 2051. To investigate past, present, and future intra-regional population trends, we used data released from decadal (1951–2021) censuses and demographic forecasts for the years 2031, 2041, and 2051. Being in line with the SCT, the empirical results of our study document how demographic dynamics of individual centers influence largely—and independently—the long-term development of metropolitan regions, both with policy/planning regulation and in conditions of non-intervention (spontaneous urban growth).

A Study on Izzy’s Existential Predicament and Growth in Little Fires Everywhere from the Perspective of Spatial Criticism

Little Fires Everywhere is a novel written by contemporary writer Celeste Ng in 2017. The novel portrays a stubborn and sensitive, brave and bold little girl—Izzy. She has been living in a repressed physical space for a long time, suffering from the control and contempt of family members as well as the isolation and ostracism of teachers and classmates in the social space, which eventually led to the alienation of her psychological space. Later, in the process of communicating with her tenant, Izzy’s shriveled heart is ignited. She sees different lifestyles, captures the meaning of life, and begins to defend freedom and seek her true self in an extremely rebellious way. Finally, she achieves transformation and growth in psychological space and achieves self-redemption in a rigid world. This paper employs spatial criticism theory to analyze the existential predicament Izzy confronts in various spaces and her resistance from three dimensions: the mundane physical space, the oppressive social space, and the estranged psychological space. The aim is to illuminate to readers that only through persistent rebellion can individuals shatter the constraints of space and attain true freedom in the face of repression and injustice.

BIOREGIONAL IDENTITY AND DISPLACEMENT: A STUDY OF HOME, MEMORY AND SPATIAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN 'A HOUSE FOR MR. BISWAS’

This paper examines V.S. Naipaul's 'A House for Mr. Biswas' through the lens of bioregionalism, focusing on the interplay between identity, displacement, and spatial consciousness. By analyzing the protagonist's quest for a home within the context of colonial Trinidad, this study explores how bioregional identity is shaped, challenged, and reimagined in the face of cultural and geographical displacement. The research employs close textual analysis and draws on theoretical frameworks from bioregional studies, postcolonial theory, and spatial theory to investigate the novel's portrayal of home, memory, and place-based identity. Findings suggest that Biswas's struggle for a house represents a broader search for bioregional belonging in a colonized space, highlighting the complex relationship between individual identity and place in postcolonial contexts. This paper contributes to the growing body of literature on bioregional approaches to postcolonial studies and offers new insights into Naipaul's seminal work.