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199 3 Nov) by Kluwer Academic Publishers

Spatial Imaginary and Geography:A P lea for the Geography of R epresentat ions 1

Bailly Antoine S. Prof. Dr. University of Geneva Department of GeographyBlvd. Ca rl Vogt 1211 Gene va Switzerland

ABST RAC T: After twen ty years o f work on the geo grap hy of representations, how is it possible to define geo graph y as the science o f space , ie as direct knowledge of materreality? This con ceptio n of the discipline - based o n Cartesian precepts o f eviden ce (eg

obse rver's indep end ent certainty), reduc tionism (ie a disaggregation into sets of simelements), causality (ie the presupp osition o f a linear linkage betw een cause and effect) exhaustiveness (ie the certainty tha t noth ing essential has been om itted) - has been throinto quest ion by the geography of representat ions ' hol ist ic approach. H ow can o ur scientpractices be separated fi 'om ou r interior existence with its affective and em otion al aspectsnot scienti f ic act ion an extension o f being? M ustn ' t the geographer, a bove and b eyon d observat ion of concrete phenom ena, a lso understan d the subt le and co mplex - a t t imrando m and hidd en - l inks which uni te hum an beings and their l ife-space, be i t f rom viewpoint of the poet , or of a ll those who take al ternat ive approaches to ge ography? Whwould like to demonstrate is (1) how in an historically and socially given environment, individual constructs his own reality in linking together the structural, functional asym bolic; (2) ho w the repres entation of the landscape is related to our existential experienand (3) how the imaginary and the real are con nect ed in each place.

Man is eographic Know ledge

To th e p r e c e p t o f e v i d e n c e , o n e m u s t o p p o s e t h a t o fs u b j e c t i v i s m , a l l o w i n g u s , as it d o e s , to a c c o u n t f o r h u m a ni r ra t io n a l it y ; t h e p r e c e p t o f r e d u c t i o n i s m m u s t b e r e p l a c edb y t h a t o f c o m p l e x i t y, f o r t h e m o r e t h a t a g i v e n s i te s t u d i e di s d i s a g g re g a t e d , th e m o r e c o m p l e x i t b e c o m e s a n d t h eg r e a t e r t h e n u m b e r o f d i m e n s i o n s o n e f in d s ; p r o b a b i l is mi s t o b e o p p o s e d t o c a u s a l i s m , a s i t i s i m p o s s i b l e t o f o r e s e ee v e r y t h i n g ( ex c e p t in r a n d o m t e r m s ) ; e x h a u s t i v e n e s s m u s tb e r e p l a c e d b y t h e i d e o l o g i c a l , i e t h e p a r t i a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o no f p h e n o m e n a b a s e d o n o u r e x p l ic i t an d i m p l i ci t c h o i ce s(Ba i l ly 1984) .

T h e g e o g r a p h e r , l i k e a l l r e s e a r c h e r s i n t h e s o c i a l

s c i e n c e s , f i n d s h i m s e l f f a c e d w i t h a f a b u l o u s a n d c o m p l e xw o r l d , a c h a o t i c s w ir l o f e x i s t e n t ia l e x p e r i e n c e s : s h o u l d h ew a n t t o u n d e r s t a n d i ts c r e a t i o n a n d e v o l u t i o n , a n d t o f i n do r d e r i n t h e c h a o s , h e w i l l h a v e t o a c c e p t t h e r a n d o mc h a r a c te r o f c h a n g e a n d t h e a p p a r e n t i r r a ti o n a li ty o f h u m a nb e h a v i o r. H e w i ll a ls o h a v e t o t a k e i n t e r e s t i n t h e s y m b o l i c so f p l a c e s ( a s d i d G . B a c h e l a r d ) , i n t h e i r m y t h i c a l a s p e c t s ( a sd i d A . C a u q u e l i n ) , a n d i n t h e i r s u b j e c t i v e c o n n o t a t i o n ( a sd i d P. S a n s o t ) . H e m u s t f u r t h e r c o n s i d e r t o p o p h i l i a o rt o p o p h o b i a , l o v e d o r h a t e d p l ac e s , as Yi F u T u a n w o u l d s ay.S p a c e i s n o t h i n g t a k e n i n a n d o f it s el f , r a t h e r i t is r e l a te d t ot h e c o n s c i o u s n e s s o r i d e o l o g y o f h e w h o l iv e s it ; t h e r e b ys p a c e b e c o m e s a n e x i s t e n t i a l p l a c e . I p r e f e r t h e t e r mp l ac e , b e s t o w e d w i t h s i g n if y i ng p o w e r b y h u m a n i s t

g e o g r a p h e r s , t o t h e m o r e g e o m e t r i c a l t e r m s p a c e ( w h i ch

l i k e t i m e , i s a u n i v e r s a l p r i n c i p l e ) a n d t h e m o r e i n -s t i t u ti o n a l t e r m t e r r it o r y .

A c c o r d i n g t o E n t r i k i n ( 19 7 6) , p l a c e i s n o t a c o l l e c t i o no f e m p i r i c a l ly o b s e r v a b l e o b j e c t s a n d e v e n t s , b u t r a t h e r i st h e r e p o s i t o r y o f m e a n i n g . A p l a c e s ay s w h a t w e a r e , a n d Il e a v e t o r a t io n a l i s ts t h e p l e a s u r e o f b e l i e v i n g t h e y c a nr e t r a n s c r i b e p l a c e t h r o u g h e x a c t n e s s . I p r e f e r t o s e e k a nu n d e r s t a n d i n g o f p l a c e s i n t h e i r i n n e r r ic h n e s s , t h e i rh i s t o r ic a l a n d s o c i a l m e a n i n g , a n d t h e i r s e n s e f o r m a n( R e l p h 1 97 6), u s i n g t h e w o r k s o f p o e t s a n d n o v e l i s t s , a n dt h e t a le s t o l d b y t h e i r in h a b i t a n t s , p r o j e c t i n g a s t h e y d ot h e i r i n n e r s e l v e s i n t o t h e n a r r a t i o n .

H u m a n b e i n g s a r e g e o g r a p h i c a l a c t o r s ; p l a c e s a r e t h e i r

l i fe - s p a c e , a ll r e l a t i o n s a r e m i x e d t o g e t h e r t h e r e i n i n at a n g l e o f l i n k s w h i c h b e a r o u r p e r s o n a l f e e l i n g s , c o l le c t i v em e m o r i e s a n d s y m b o l s . N o o n e s in g l e v i s io n o f a pl a c e isf e a s ib l e . A b o v e u s , t h e r e i s n o t b u t o n e s o l e h e a v e n , b u tr a t h e r t h o u s a n d s o f t h e m ( S t e i n 1 9 87 ) w h i c h e v o l v e , f a lp r e y t o c h a n g e , a n d f i n d t h e i r s o u r c e s i n o u r l iv e de x p e r i e n c e . B e a u t y a n d u g l i n e s s a r e r e l a te d t o m a n , a n d t h em o s t d i l a p i d a te d b u i l d i n g m a y b e c o m e s u p e r b , r i c h a n de n d o w e d w i t h s o u l . A f e e l i n g o r a r e c o l l e c t i o n c a n s u f fi c ef o r s p a c e , h a v i n g b e c o m e a p l a c e , t o c o m e t o l i f e . B u t t h er a t i o n a li s t w i ll n e v e r u n d e r s t a n d t h i s, f o r h e c a n n o to b j e c t i v e l y e x p l a i n a n o l d m a n ' s a t t a c h m e n t t o h i s s q u a l i dh o u s i n g , a j u n i o r h i g h s c h o o l s t u d e n t ' s p r o t e s t g r a ff it i, o r f e s ti v a l in t h e m o s t a t r o c i o u s o f C a l c u t t a ' s s l u m s . T h e

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r e s e a r c h e r ' s e m p a t h y is t h e i n d i s p e n s a b l e p o i n t o fd e p a r t u r e i n t h e g e o g r a p h y o f r e p r e s e n t a t io n s , w h i l e i n -d i f f e r e n c e a n d n e u t r a l i t y a r e a l t o g e t h e r a t o d d s w i t h i t .

T h u s t h e c i t y c o m e s t o l i fe b e y o n d i ts m a p , s t ru c t u r e s ,p h y s i c a l l a n d m a r k s a n d f u n c t i o n s . D u e t o t h e i s o m o r p h i s mb e t w e e n t h e d i f f e re n t f a c e ts o f p la c e s - b e t w e e n h a b i t a t,s o c i a l r i tu a l s , c u l t u r e s , d r e s s , e t c . - t h e g e o g r a p h e r c a ni s o la t e t h e m a j o r r o l e o f c e rt a i n c o m p o n e n t s o f p la c e s .H u m a n p a s t s , p r e s e n t s a n d f u t u r e s j o in u p t h e r e i n t oc r e a te a n a t m o s p h e r e w h i c h o n l y a n i n n e r a n a ly s is c a ng r a s p in i ts s u b t l e r ic h n e s s . G e o g r a p h i c r e p r e s e n t a t i o n i sa l r e ad y a w a y o f b e i n g , a w a y o f s p e a k i n g o f t h e E a r t h , t h eg r e a t t h e a t e r o f t h e h u m a n a d v e n t u r e . I t is a ls o t h em e d i a t o r o f sp a t ia l e x p e r i e n c e f r o m a n e x i s t e n ti a l p o i n t o fv i e w, d i s c o v e r in g i n t e r a c ti o n s b e t w e e n m a n a n d h i se n v i r o n m e n t , t h e r o l e o f p la c e s in t h e r e a l i z a ti o n o f h u m a nd y n a m i c s , a n d s o o n . I n t h e f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n I w i ll u s e t h ee x a m p l e o f th e r e p r e s e n t a t io n o f m o v e m e n t a n d t ra v e l,s o m e w h a t n e g l e c te d b y g e o g r a p h e r s m o r e g i v e n tos t u d y i n g s e d e n t a r y p e r s p e c t i v e s , to i l lu s t r a t e t h ep o t e n t i a li t ie s o f t h e g e o g r a p h y o f r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s .

maginary M otion

O f t h e f o u r f u n d a m e n t a l e l e m e n t s - w a t e r , ai r, fi re a n de a r t h - t h e l a tt e r, c o n s i d e r e d a s t h e m o t h e r o f h u m a n k i n da n d h i s h o m e f r o m b i r t h to d e a t h , h a s al w a y s t r o u b l e d a n di n t r i g u e d m a n . I t m u s t b e t r a v e r s e d i n o r d e r t o l i v e , a n dm o v e m e n t a c r o ss t h e f a ce o f t h e e a r t h h a s p r o g r e s s iv e l ys i gn i fi e d l if e. O n l y u p o n d e a t h - t h a t m o m e n t w h e n o n e

r e t u r n s t o t h e e a r t h - d o e s m o v e m e n t c e a s e. B o u g h a l i ' s( 19 7 4) d e s c r i p t i o n o f t r a d i t io n a l p r a c t i c e s i n B e r b e r t r i b e si l l u s t r a t e s t h e b i r t h - d e a t h - l i f e - p l a c e l i n k . T h e r e h a s b e e nb u t o n e s h o r t s t e p m a d e s i n c e t h e e a r l i e s t a n t i q u i t y i na s s o c ia t in g th e e a r t h a n d m o v e m e n t w i t h th e e v o l u t i o n o fl iv i n g b e i n g s . T h e a n a l y s is o f m o v e m e n t c a n n o t b e r e d u c e dt o t h e g e o m e t r i c a l r e la t i o n b e t w e e n t w o s e t s o f p o i n ts , a ss p a c e , d u r a t i o n , a n d s p a t i al p ra c t ic e s c o m b i n e w i t h h u m a ne x p e r i e n c e t o t r a n s f o r m t h e t e r r e s t r i a l s u r f a c e i n t o p l a c e s ,a n d d i s t a n c e i n t o l i v e d t r a v e l . I f t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f at r a je c t o r y c o r r e s p o n d s t o t h e o rg a n i z a t i o n o f a s e r ie s o fl a n d m a r k s , w h i c h i n tu r n c o r r e s p o n d s t o t o p o l o g ic a lc o n c e p t s s u c h a s s e p a r a t i o n - a s s o c i a t i o n , o r d e r - p o s i t i o n ,

a n d c o n n e c t e d n e s s ( B a i ll y 1 9 85 ), t h e n i t is e v e n m o r es y m b o l i c . A s t r a i g h t l i n e w i t h a tr a j e c t o r y t o w a r d s t h ei n f in i t e , i s o p p o s e d t o t h e o s c i l l a t io n o r p e r p e t u a l r e t u r n o fa c i rc le ; a rec t i l inear pa th i s los t in t ime , abol i sh ing i t sr e v e rs i b il it y. I t b e c o m e s a b e a r e r o f p e r s o n a l m e a n i n g sw h i c h f i n d t h e i r o r i g i n i n c u l t u r a l v a l u e s : l e t u s n o t f o rg e tt h a t c u l t u r e i s a c o l l e c ti v e w a y o f i n je c t i n g o r d e r i n t oh u m a n f e e li n g s , a c o ll e c ti v e p e r s p e c t i v e w h ic h e a c h p e r s o na s s u m e s p e r s o n al l y.

M a n d r aw s f r o m t h e i m a g i n a r y t h e m e a n s o ft r a n s c e n d i n g m o v e m e n t , t o s u c h a n e x t e n t a s t o b e a b le tor e t r a c e t h e r o a d o f li fe . I n t a k i n g h i m s e l f to b e t h e c e n t e r o ft h e U n i v e r s e - t h e p o i n t o f d e p a r t u r e a t t h e m i d d l e o f t h ec i rc l e - h e m a t e r i a l i z e s h i s d r e a m s o f i m m o r t a l i t y. B u t t o

a t t a in t h i s w o r l d o f s p o u t i n g w a t e r s i n th e g a r d e n s o fp l e n t y, h e m u s t t a k e a l o n g tr ip f r o m t h e p e r i p h e r y f r o mw h i c h h e i s o s t r a c i z e d t o w a r d s t h e c r o s s a t t h e c i r c l e ' sc e n t e r w h e r e o p p o s i t e s u n i t e a n d t e n s i o n s a r e r e so l v e dI d e a s o f m o v e m e n t t o w a rd s b e t t e r p la c es c a n b e f o u n d i nl i te r a t u r e ( f r o m t h e O d y s s e y t o t h e A e n e a d , a n d i n o u rt i m e i n s c i e n c e f i c ti o n : i n To l k i e n ' sLord of the Rings f o re x a m p l e ) a s w e ll a s i n o u r v a c a t i o n a n d r e t i r e m e n tp r a c t i c e s - a n d e v e n i n t h e c o n c e n t r i c c i r c l e s o n m a p s o fo u r c i t ie s , s c h e m a t i z e d b y t h e u r b a n e c o l o g i st s o f th eC h i c a g o s c h o o l ( P a rk a n d B u rg e ss ) a n d b y n o v e l i st s : T h e yc r o s s t h e w h o l e c it y, f r o m t h e s h a d y s t r e e t s o f t h e f i n en e i g h b o r h o o d s , w i t h t h e i r m a j e s t i c r e s i d e n c e s a n d o p u l e n tf o li a g e, a n d t h e g r e y a n d n o i s y r e s id e n t i a l z o n e s o f o t h e rm i d d l e c l a s s e s , t o t h e l a rg e r i n g s o f m i s e r y ( A l l e n d e 1 98 6p . 69 ). B u t s o c ia l a s c e n s i o n - t h a t m a r v e l l o u s j o u r n e y - g o e si n t h e o p p o s i t e d i r e c ti o n f r o m t h e i m p o v e r i s h e d c e n t e rt o w a r d s t h e l u x u r y o f th e o u t e r r i n g s.

T h e s y m b o l i c s o f m o v e m e n t a ll ow o n e t o b e a r th i sf u n c t i o n i n g , f o r t o u n d e r t a k e a n y m o v e m e n t , i e t o g ob e y o n d p h y s i c a l a n d s o c i a l b a r r ie r s , m a n m u s t p r o v e t h a th e is c a p a b l e o f m a s t e r i n g p l a c es . I n A n t i q u i ty, t h eg u a r d i a n s o f t h e k e y p a s sa g e w a y s - t h e p r e c u r s o r s o f o u rp o l i ce - t u r n e d a w a y t h o s e w h o r e m a i n e d p r o f a n e .N o w a d a y s t h e d e c i p h e r i n g o f s oc i a l c o d e s a n d t h e i rs y m b o l i c p r o p e r t i e s i s s t il l i n d i s p e n s a b l e f o r m o b i l i t y. Wi t hh i s m e n t a l m a p s , m a n i m a g i n e s h i s t r a j ec t o r y - t h u s t h eo r i g in o f t h e m y t h o f s o c ia l a n d s p a t ia l a s c e n s i o n i n t os p a c e , t o w a r d s t h a t b e t t e r p l a c e a t t h e j o u r n e y ' s e n d , t h ep r o m i s e d l a n d o f t h e H e b r e w s a n d M o r m o n s . I f w e t h in ko f s p a c e a s t h a t w h i c h a l l o w s m o v e m e n t , t h e n p l a c e is a

p a u s e . . . ( Tu a n 1 97 7).A t t i m e s t h e i m a g i n a r y g e t s th e u p p e r h a n d ; i n m yd r e a m s I l e a v e G e n e v a b e h i n d t o l i v e i n a f a b u l o u s c i ty. Ik n o w i t s l a y o u t , i t s s t r u c t u r e o r a t l e a s t I i m a g i n e I k n o wt h e m . P e r h a p s i t i s P r i n c e t o n ; b u t a p a r t f r o m t h i s l i n e a rs t r u c t u ri n g a x is , i t h a s n o t h i n g i n c o m m o n w i t h t h eP r i n c e t o n w h e r e I o n c e l iv e d . M a i n s t r e e t a n d t h e c a m p u sh a v e b e c o m e l a n d m a r k s w h i ch a l lo w m e t o m o v e a r o u n di n a n e w i m a g i n a r y d e co r , sp r i n k l e d w i t h a b a n d o n e dd r e a m s . T h i s w o r l d , li k e t h a t o f t h e s m a l l p r o v i n ci a l t o w n o fA . R o b b e - G r i l l e t ' s G o m m e s , h a s i t s e x a c t d i m e n s i o n s , i t sa c c u m u l a t e d i m a g e s . . , b u t n o o n e c a n s i t u a t e t h e s t r e e t s ,b u i l d in g s a n d l i m i ts ; t h e c e n t e r i n g w o r k s w i t h i n a m a z e -

l ik e i m a g i n a r y i n w h i c h t i m e f a d e s a w a y. T h e c l a ss i c al m y t ho f t h e l a b y r i n t h c a n o f t e n b e f o u n d i n th e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o fm o v e m e n t : a n i t i n e r a ry in a n o t h e r w o r l d , i t c o n s t i t u t e s ap a s s a g e w h i c h m u s t b e o v e r c o m e . I t i s t h e p l a c e o f o n e ' sr e b i rt h . A j o u r n e y i n t h e m i n d , i n s p a c e a n d t i m e , i tp r o v i d e s a c c e s s t o a m a r v e l l o u s e l s e w h e r e . T h e c i r c l e i s i t sp r i v i l e g e d s i g n ( a s is w a t e r ) , f o r t h i s f o r m w i t h o u t r e f e r e n c ep o i n t s t h w a r t s u s i n i s o l a ti n g e a s i ly d e c o d e d s t r u c t u r e s . I no r i e n t i n g h i m s e l f li k e T h e s e u s o r D a e d a l u s , m a n a t t a i n sn e w k n o w l e d g e , t h u s h e w h o o f f e rs u p a s a c ri fi ce i n t h em y t h b e c o m e s c o n f o u n d e d w i th h i s v i c ti m ; t h u s t h eG o m r n e s ' d e t e c t i v e b e c o m e s t h e c r i m i n a l (B a il ly a n dC o s t a n t i n o 1 9 8 5 ) . M o v e m e n t , p l a c e a n d t i m e a r e c o n -f o u n d e d i n t h i s e x i s t e n t i a l e x p e r i e n c e .

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Behind the v i scera l des i re for in i t i a tory mo ve me nt ,seen in the t rad it ion o f the Lace dem onia n c rypt and in tha tof the adv entures o f the C rusaders as nar ra ted bys tory te l le rs , ma ny ma rve l lous co unt r ies a r i se wi th a be t te rb e y o n d . A n d o n e c a n u n d e r s t a n d t h e a r o u n d - t h e - w o r l dt r ip o f the bourg eois t i red of h is ex is tence , o r the

adolescent ' s fugue . To inhabi t a p lace i s to pu t down rootsa n d d o m e s t i c a te t h e p l a c e , b u t t o b e c o m e a m a n , o n e m u s tknow ho w to leave the se t t ing of one ' s ch i ldhood and i t sru les ; one breaks one ' s cha ins and goes bey ond the m ir rorto br ing about a soc ia l and spa t ia l depar ture . Dreams ofIndia , l ike those forme r ly of the Holy Land , bodi ly andspir i tual evasions, catalyze spir i tual experience towardsfur ther in i t i a t ions and n ew guid ing l ines in one ' s ex is tence .Even i f the t r ip involves asce tic i sm or tem pora rydeprivat ion, i t leads to a inner paradise. Travelprofess iona ls have c lear ly und ers too d th i s ques t . But wesee such impover i shment in the vaca t ion ca ta loguesconcern ing the exot ic i sm of the everyday The func t iona lwins ou t over the symbol ic , the super f ic ia l over thein te r ior, and the myth co l lapses in to the re foundfunc t iona l . The hackneyed mounta in dwel le rs c rea ted bysk i s ta t ions (Gudr in and Gum uchi an 1978) i l lust ra te thep r i m a c y o f t h e e c o n o m i c o v e r e v e r y o t h e r v a l u e ; e v e ns n o w h a s b e c o m e f u n c ti o n a l A n d t h e v a c a t i o n e r f r o m t h ec i ty f inds the rhy thm of h is every day urban ex is tence , wi ththe s imple addi t ion of a new range of ac t iv i ti es . A fa r c ryf rom the p i lg r im in the Middle Ages (Os te r r ie th 1985).

Mixture of Real and Imaginary

The symb ols which m ake p laces come a l ive a re no t on lythose of the t rave l le r o r poe t , bu t a l so those each of usleaves in h i s wake . We each feed off o f our e ra , and ournar ra t ives and wr i t ings speak for us . Why are people thussurpr i sed by the m ix ture of real and imagina ry in nove l i s t s 'represen ta t ions , as wel l as those o f car tographers? Do n ' tmap s revea l the subs tance of p lace va lor iza t ions? Thusthose te r res tr ia l maps sur ro unde d by ange lic and d iabolica lscenes , oceans beyond which parad is iaca l wor lds a redepic ted . These an tholog ies of the m arve l lous do not se rves i m p l y f o r w a r ri n g N o m o r e s o t h a n p e d e s t r ia n m a p s m a d eo f d r e a m s a b o u t w a l k s in m a r v e l l o u s l a n d s c a p e s . . .

The in te rweaving o f t ime an d space conform s to th i slog ic of real and imaginary. Ancien t peo ples s i tua ted thespent po r t ions of the i r lives and d ea th to the w es t ; the eas t ,on the cont ra ry, was the so urce of l i fe which m ov ed wi ththe sun . Beyond, a t the an t ipodes , were the myth ica lworlds, including the traces o f past civi l izat ions,swal lowed-up wor lds and new Amer icas : d ream s off a b u l o u s j o u r n e y s .

Del ibera te ly idea l is t and subjec tiv i s t, the geograp hy ofrepresen ta t ions draws i t s r i chness f rom the ana lysi s o f thep e r m a n e n t m i x t u r e o f r ea l a n d i m a g i na r y. I t w o u ld b eer rone ous to be l ieve tha t wi th con tem pora ry socie ty, manhas become more mobi le , o r tha t he has los t h i s roo tsb e c a u s e h e l i v e s i n m o r e a n d m o r e h o m o g e n e o u s

envi ronments . We have , ra ther, neg lec ted to d i scover thesymbo l ics of the p laces of our contem pora ry lives and the i rpoetic densi ty. To par ody G. Du ran d (1964), I wou ld say thatthe fun dam enta l ev i l which has th rea tened geogra phy is i thas min im ized im ages and m yths , accept ing ins tead s te r i lefunc t iona l i s t v i sions . In in tegra t ing spa t ia l meanin g and i tss y m b o l ic s , e v e n t h e m o s t m o d e r n o f p la c e s a re r e v e a l e d i na l l the i r r i chness to those who s tudy them. One d iscoversnot on ly subjec t - soc ie ty-p lace re la t ions , bu t co l lec t ivesocial valorizat ions and spatial myths as well . Eachn e i g h b o r h o o d , e a c h b u il d in g p o s s e s s e s b o t h s y m b o l i c a ndfunc t iona l charac te r i s t ics , eg churches , synagogues , andmo squ es - p laces of worsh ip w hich p lay an ideo logica l ro le- as well as construc t ions local ized in precise parts o f thec i ty - on sacred s i tes such as h i ll tops domin a t ing the u rbanl a n d s c a p e . E a c h c o m m u n i t y d e v e l o p s m a i n p r i n c i p l e s o floca t ion which in tegra te the ideo logy and symbo l i sm ofp laces of worsh ip . These menta l represen ta t ions br ingfor th the mul t ip l ic ity of imaginary wor lds : " thus , thehum bles t - l ike the ug l ies t - o f p laces , t akes on the pres t igeof the s ign i fie r which only t ime can bes tow u pon th ings"(Fauque 1974).

The po lysem y of lived spaces , i e the sup er imp os i t ion ofrepresen ta t ions , i s what makes th i s new approachindispensable . Regions , c i t i es and ne ighborhoods -cons t i tu t ing mir ro rs of our soc ie ties - a re bo th dream s andn i g h t m a r e s . T h e g e o g r a p h e r m u s t s t u d y t h e m t o b e c o m e ava luable in te r locutor in dea l ing wi th p lanning technocra t sa n d t h e o r e t i c i a n s p r o m o t i n g d e v e l o p m e n t f r o m t h e t o pdown. In re fus ing to in tegra te the r ichness of hu ma n inn erre la t ionsh ips wi th the symbol ics of p laces , d is incarna te

geograp hy wil l lose i t s geographica l kn ow how.

"A sons perdu s leurs v io lonsF o n d d a n s e r n o t r e r a c e h u m a i n eSur la descente ~ recu lons"

T h e dying sound s of the i r v io l insm a k e t h e h u m a n r a c e d a n c ebackwards down the downhi l l s t re tch"

(Apoll inaire, Alcools)

Towards a Theory of Spatial Experience

Wh at i s miss ing in the geo graph y of represen ta t ions i sthe b i t o f rigor need ed to anchor ex is ten tia l exper iencewi th in a log ica l - theore t ica l schema. Even i f theor ies ofm a n h a v e n o t d e t e r m i n e d t h e t r u e p r o p o r t i o n s o f w il l( ind iv idua l f reedom) and soc ia l de te rmin ism, we canpropose - no t a un i fy ing theory - bu t a se r ies ofc lass i f ica tory regular i t ies iden t i f ied th rou gh research o nlandscape s t ruc tures (Bail ly 1985) . The comp lexi ty of ourre la t ions to p laces, c la ri f ied by work in micro geograph y,requi res us to conce ive o f every men ta l space as organizedin accordance wi th th ree aspec ts: s t ruc tura l , func t iona l andsymbol ic . The s t ruc tura l aspec t , c lear ly h igh l igh ted byLynch , a l lows one to grasp the way in which en vi ron men ta l

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s t r u c t u r e s a r e u s e d b y i n d i v i d u a ls i n t h e i r s p a t ia l p r a c t ic e s .T h e f u n c t i o n a l a s p e c t p r i v i l e g e s t h e s p a c e - t i m e c o n s t r a i n ti n e x p l a in i n g p r o b l e m s o f ac c e ss i b il it y a n d t h e e c o n o m i cc a p a c i ti e s o f p l a ce s . T h e s y m b o l i c a s p e c t - f a r m o r e r a r e l yd e a lt w i t h e x c e p t i n th e g e o g r a p h y o f r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s -r e v e al s a n i m m e n s e v a r i et y o f sp a ti a l c o n n o t a t i o n s , a n d t h e

b u n d l e o f u n if i c at o r y r e l a ti o n s b e t w e e n m a n , s o c i e ty a n dp l a c e . T h i s t h r e e f o l d d i s t i n c t i o n a l lo w s o n e t o c o n s i d e rs p a c e a s m o r e t h a n a s im p l e m e d i u m . T h e l i n k, fo r e x a m -p l e, b e t w e e n G e n e v a ' s f o u n t a i n , a n o b je c t c o n s t r u c t e d o nl a k e L 6 m a n , a n d t h i s i n t e r n a t i o n a l t o u r i s t t o w n ' s i m a g e ,s h o w s h o w a s y m b o l a t tr a ct s a n d b e c o m e s a p a r t o f l iv e de x p e r i e n c e : a f t e r o n e ' s v is i t t o t h e M o n t - B l a n c b r i d g e ,e v e r y t o u r i s t i d e n t i f ie s t h e f o u n t a i n w i t h t h e c it y, w i t hS w i t z e rl a n d , a n d w i t h t h e M o n t - B l a n c i n t h e b a c k g r o u n d .T h e e x p e r i e n c e c r e a te s n e w i n f o r m a t i o n - a n e w l a n d m a r k( B a i ll y a n d F e r r i e r 1 9 8 6 ) - w h i c h l e a d s u s t o u n d e r s t a n dh o w r e p r e s e n t a t io n s a r e c o n s t ru c t e d .

E v e r y p l a ce , b r o k e n d o w n i n t o a s e t o f e l e m e n t s , i so r g a n i z e d a l o n g s t r u c t u r i n g a x e s ( m a i n t r a n s p o r t a t i o na x e s , a n d p h y s i c a l a x e s s u c h a s r i v e r s , v a l l e y s , e t c . )r e l a t i o n a l a x e s ( i n t e r s e c t i o n s , k n o t s ) , a n d l a n d m a r k s a n dr e f e r e n c e v o l u m e s ( b e t h e y n a t u ra l - e g m o u n t a i n s - o rc o n s t r u c t e d - e g t e m p l e s ) . A s y s t e m a t i c c l a s si f ic a t io n o ft h e s e c o m p o n e n t s a n d a n a n a ly s is o f t h e ir d e f o r m a t i o n sc o m p a r e d w i t h E u c l i d e a n g e o m e t r y, m a k e s i t p o s s ib l e t og r as p t h e l a n d m a r k s u s e d b y p e o p l e i n t h e ir r e g i o n s a n d t ou n d e r s t a n d t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s b o r n o f t h e ir p r a ct ic e s i nt h i s s p a c e . T h i s n e t w o r k o n l y t a k e s o n i t s f u l l m e a n i n g ,h o w e v e r , w h e n c o m p l e t e d b y a s e t o f f u n c t i o n a l , c u lt u r ala n d s y m b o l i c s i g n i f i e r s w h i c h a r e i n s e p a r a b l e f r o m i t , i e

m a r k e r s w h i c h i n f o r m o n e a b o u t t h e p l a c e . A p l ac e ,p o s i t i o n o r g e o g r a p h i c a l e x p a n s e o n l y ta k e s o n i tsm e a n i n g s i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e i m a g e s ( r e p r e s e n ta t i o n s )a t t r i b u t e d t o it . A m o n g t h e s i g n i f y in g e l e m e n t s , w e f i n dt h e s y m b o l i c s o f o r i e n t a t io n a n d t h e s a c r e d c h a r ac t e r o fc e r ta i n p l a ce s . T h e y m u s t b e c o m p l e t e d b y t h e v a l u e sa t t r i b u t e d t o t h e l im i t s o f t h e s p a c e a n d t o t h e l a n d m a r k s ,w h e t h e r t h e y b e r e l ig i o u s , c u lt u r a l o r a d m i n i s t r a t iv e . P l a c e sa r e t h u s c o n c e p t u a l i z e d a s s ig n i f y i n g m e n t a l s p a c e s ,i n t e r n a l i z e d b y t h e i r in h a b i t a n t s , a s o p p o s e d t o t h ee x t e r n al i ty o f e n v i r o n m e n t s o u t s i d e m e n t a l l i m i ts . E a c h

p l a c e t h u s e x i s ts a s a se r i e s o f f u n c t i o n a l p r o p e r t i e s ( t y p e so f a c t iv i t ie s a n d l i fe s t y le s ) , s y m b o l i c p r o p e r t i e s ( p r e st ig i o u s p l ac e s a n d c e n t e r s ) a n d t e m p o r a l p r o p e r t i e s ( h i s t or i c a l a n d p r o j e c t i v e ) .

G e o g r a p h y m u s t r e c o n s t r uc t t h e c o m p o n e n t s o f t h e sep l a c es f r o m t h e b o t t o m u p a n d m u s t i l lu m i n a t e t h e i r

s y m b o l i c s . T h e l a n d s c a p e is c o n c e i v e d o f as c o m p o s e d os i gn s w h i c h a r e a c c e p t e d , d e c o d e d a n d v a l o r i z e d b y c e r t ai nm e m b e r s o f s o ci e ty. P l a ce , h a v in g t h u s b e c o m e r e a d a b l e , ii m a g i n a r i l y r e g i s t e r e d ( p s y c h o l o g i c a l fa c t s , m e n t a l i m a g e sa n d s o o n ) - f a i l i n g w h i c h t h e r e i s n e i t h e r c e n t r a l i t y,m a r g i n a l i t y n o r h i e r a r c h y.

C o n c l u s i o n

T h i s k i n d o f a n a l y s is , w h i l e d e l i c a te o w i n g t o t h ep h i l o s o p h i c a l r e f l e c t i o n t h a t i t n e c e s s i t a t e s ( i n c l u d i n gh o l is m , a n t h r o p o c e n t r i s m a n d p h e n o m e n o l o g y ) , a l lo w st h e g e o g r a p h e r - a w a r e o f t h e r o l e o f th e s y m b o l i c s o f o u rr e p r e s e n t a t i o n s a b o u t o u r s p a t ia l p r a c t i c e s - t o e x p l o r e n e ww o r l d s : t h o s e o f o u r v al u e s , m e a n i n g s a n d o b j e c t iv e s . T h u sw e c a n g i v e u p t h e o l d d e f i n i t io n , s c i e n c e o f p l a c es , t oi n i ti a t e o u r s e l v e s i n t o t h e li n k s b e t w e e n m e n t a lr e p r e s e n t a ti o n s , i n t e n t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e s a n d b u n d l e s o fp r a c t i c e s in s p a c e a n d t i m e . O n e o f g e o g r a p h y ' s o b j e c t i v e s

t h a t o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g , o r g a n i z i n g a n d fo r e s e e i n g h u m a ng e o g r a p h i c e x p e r i e n c e - j u s t i f i e s t h is r e n e w e d a p p r o a c hS t u d y i n g m e a n i n g s , h u m a n v a l u e s a n d t h e s y m b o l i c s o fp l ac e , t h e g e o g r a p h e r r e s i t u a te s h u m a n b e i n g s i n t h e r o let h e y h a d l o st i n a n a ly s e s g u i d e d b y f u n c ti o n a l i sm . D o e s n ' tt h is e x p l o r a t i o n o f t h e e x i s t e n ti a l f o u n d a t i o n s o f o u r w o r l dt r u ly d e s e r v e t o b e c a ll e d h u m a n g e o g r a p h y ?

N o t e

1~ Th e term geography of representations iswidely used infrancop hone social science, but is not co mm only employed iEnglish. This concept refers, according to Piaget, to the mannein which hum an beings experience: how they present ly perceivsomething, and how their present percept ion is based upon anaccum ulated set of experiences and me mories; how theyrepresent this phenomenon, imagine i t and value i t in verbalwritten, menta l or graphical form.

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Schocken Books, New York 1976.Osterr ieth, A .: Space, Place and M ovem ent: the Quest for Self in th

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