Place

Peter F. Cannavò

The concept of place is familiar in everyday life. We map our spatial world into discrete places, ranging in scale from the microscopic to whole galaxies. Moreover, this concept is a complex one that straddles a number of fields: political science, geography, planning, environmental studies, sociology, philosophy, architecture, and other branches of social theory. Consequently, any discussion of the concept of place must go beyond traditional political theory. In one sense, the concept of place is obviously political. Politics is to a significant degree about the governance of demarcated territorial units, from ancient empires and city-states to the modern nation-state and subnational divisions and municipalities. In political theory, the spatial elements of politics go back to classical thought. Aristotle offered a kind of place, the polis or city-state, as an ideal site for politics, and discussed at length the proper spatial dimensions and physical layout of the polis. Later Perhaps ...

Users without subscription are not able to see the full content on this title. Please, subscribe or login to access all content on this website.