By Dr Laila Abdel Aal Alghalban

“A place belongs forever to whoever claims it hardest, remembers it most obsessively, wrenches it from itself, shapes it, renders it, loves it so radically that he remakes it in his own image,” the American writer Joan Didion said.

What’s in a place? Do we live in places, or places live in us? And what does a place mean to us? These questions resound in everyone’s head when they reflect on the impact of places on us. I have always been amazed by how geography sways us beyond comprehension. Place is part of our identity personally and collectively, thanks to the power of its symbolic values. Place shapes our languages, accents, beliefs, thinking modes, decision making, traditions, experiences, aspirations, opportunities, among so many things. How we attach to a place, and even to a place we have never been to, remains a mystery.

There is no utopia

Environmental psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists have argued that place is a place when humans live in it; otherwise, it remains a space, a plot of land. In other words, if there are no people, there is no place. It is people who give sense and history to a space or location, turning it into a place with meaningful, intimate and unique entity, and creating its special cultural and personal reality. There is no ideal place on the Earth, there is no utopia. The perfect place for you is the one you create in your heart; this is your comfort zone. Places may vary; some are glamorous, generous and welcoming; others are hellish, throwing their inhabitants away in the unknown, or letting them stay to wrestle with poverty and violence due to racial and social inequalities. Some places always captivate us; their allure never dims, representing our moral, religious, artistic, or intellectual compass. Think about how happy we are when making a pilgrimage to a beloved place, taking risks and submitting to threats and uncertainties.

When place turns into personal space

Space speaks the loudest when it comes to how we position ourselves in relation to others both horizontally through four spaces: public space (about four meters), social space (ranging from1.2m -3.7m.), personal space (0.46-1.5m) and finally intimate space (0-0.46m); and vertically through the social structure of societies, where each group of people belonging to a particular social class set themselves apart from others. Moreover, people sharing similar beliefs rip the fabric of place and time distance, aligning to a fixed set of ideas and values. Distances in communication across cultures, according to The Lewis Model, vary with regard to the distances manifested in the degree of directness, patience, adherence to facts, personal stories, frequency of interruptions in conversations, and environmental noise.

Place as meaning generator

Places are not static; they are dynamically cognitive worlds. The symbols, images and how things are organised in a place are special codes that join forces to generate meaning. It is crossing my mind now the recurrent tragic incidents of nature lovers going missing, killed, or starving to death to extinguish the fire of exploration and escape from home, and feed their ravenous hunger for solitude and privacy.

Place metaphors

Paces have been conceptualised both similarly and differently across cultures. Here are some. Place is portrayed as a parent; we refer to places as our ‘motherland,’ conveying love, giving, peace and warmth.

When we care about places

Place attachment is compounded by caring about it. Protecting our places from pollution and urban sprawl, keeping native fauna and flora, and setting development plans in harmony with local cultures are top priorities to save the future generations’ rights to live in a healthy, culturally rich, and promising world.

By Dr Laila Abdel Aal Alghalban