Thoughts About Space & Human Interaction.

Musings about the space around us, how we occupy it and how it affects our life.

I have been particularly aware of my surroundings lately. I don’t know if it’s the inevitable heightened alertness that comes with walking around an unfamiliar metropolis but my general perception of space has become more specific. 
I watch my step more, I leave my phone in my pocket for longer periods of time, I definitely don’t listen to music while moving or waiting for the train. I was also instructed to lean my back against a wall while doing so–surfaces become safety measures. I wouldn’t necessarily attribute this enhanced awareness of space to fear, but it definitely plays a role in the behavioral adjustment.

While this may paint a bleak picture of what urban life can be, I like to think of the need to scrutinize your surroundings as an opportunity to catch a glimpse of things you wouldn’t normally pay attention to. 
Being immersed in “space” with no digital distractions permits me to absorb the environment and make mental notes of reference points for those days I am not able to rely on Google Maps, which is something I can only benefit from given that my sense of orientation scores 0 on the ranking scale from 1 to 10. 

If you think about it, space is both an abstract and concrete concept at the same time; it encompasses architecture, urbanism and green areas on one hand, the infinite, empty atmosphere around us on the other. 
As humans we tend to enclose every inch of space around us. We build closets, rooms, houses or apartments, buildings and whole cities to define space. We rarely let nature just do its course, we forcefully feel the need to domesticate anything that grows out of control the same way we deem an untamed mane inappropriate. That is probably why wilderness is something not many of us can allow into our lives despite being our most primordial condition. No wonder people have been cashing out by providing so many alternative ways to experience the outdoors without actually having to deal with the inconveniences that come with being into the wild.
These gimmicks have been increasingly showing up in the form of glamourized camping tents—glamping cabanas for those like me who can’t stand the thought of releasing bodily fluids in “public”—and aesthetically pleasing hi-tec cabins that appeal to a very specific kind of crowd: yuppie design professionals. 

I am not sure the world was ever intended to be lived this way but one thing I know for sure is that  technological advancement and space definition has probably helped humanity move forward more than we would have been able to without a roof over our heads. 
If there is one thing I don’t understand about this maniacal need to constrain the space around us, though, it’s the difficulty to create safe opportunities for all people. 
What’s the point of continuously forcing people to occupy private space if not all of us can actually access safe shelter? Moreover, the inability to procure refuge is outlawed in most places around the “civilized” world. 

Almost every inch of space around us is regulated and defined by geometrical shapes. In most countries–at least in the West–you can’t just build a house wherever you wish. Land is subsidized. You have to respect certain architectural canons, you can’t build taller than the law allows. A lot is never left unclaimed, if no nominal deed appears to be attached to it, then it automatically becomes the government’s possession. Even public parks are not really public. You can’t rock up to a green area and decide to plant a banana mangrove out of nowhere. You need permits, allowances and all that bureaucratic jazz.  

Looking down on Earth from the sky, from an airplane or a spaceship, it’s easy to see how the whole world is essentially a huge grid pattern. Every inch of land is cut up into geometrical portions. Streets delineate the space where a wide array of parallelepipeds—some smaller, some outrageously tall–trap more of that infinite void. 

As somebody who has lived on her own since leaving my parent’s nest back in 2010, I only get to perceive sharing personal space with other people on two occasions: when I visit my family or my boyfriend. And while it’s okay for me to retreat in my childhood bedroom when the constant presence of another person starts to suffocate me, I cannot do the same in the second instance because of space limitations and different interaction dynamics. And so, while I learn to adapt and mold my habits to fit this new way to experience the household, I am also prompted to redesign my understanding of space–not only inside but also outside. Every step is taken in relation to what is currently going on around me. From the moment I exit my front door, hit the pavement, stop for groceries or wander aimlessly around the neighborhood, each and every movement must be calculated and strategized in order to take up the minimal amount of space that is assigned to me at that very moment.

We often talk about personal space and its shared value, rarely we discuss how the perimeter we occupy with our body–indoors or in public–relates to the objects, constructions and obstacles we encounter on the way. For example, if we were to take a walk in the park on a gloomy fall day, we’d probably have to take multiple spatial factors into account. Let’s say it rained a couple of hours prior to our outing and the pathway is lined with muddy puddles, our march would be hindered by water and we’d need to pay increased attention to where we step foot. 
Would stepping into the puddle harm us? No, but it would cause useless nuisance as it will get us dirty, moist and subsequently cause unpleasant discomfort. In the same instance, we also wouldn’t intentionally walk on the wet grass.

This mindless habit–unless you are a child that has yet to be conditioned by life–is an action that has become ingrained into our day to day without too much effort. Just like dodging passersby on a busy sidewalk, these unconscious standard practices help us move in the world without putting too much emphasis on our surroundings–or so it seems. In reality, every living moment has an intrinsic relationship with space.

On Saturday afternoon I met up with a new friend who has been working on community organization for a couple of years. He runs multiple football projects and that’s where our lives overlapped. As we caught up and discussed potential opportunities to explore together, we ended up chit-chatting about how lack of access to parks or communal areas are directly affecting the growth of the game–and talent–in cities like New York and Milan. While this is a theme I have been delving into deeper and deeper in the past few months, during our conversation I felt like my introspection on space and humanity was further validated. One cannot exist without the other and they are perpetually in a state of flow.

Architecture, geography and topography have more to do with psychology and sociology than we commonly expect. While this may be ordinary knowledge for urbanists and similar career-men/women alike, I doubt the average population spends any time thinking about how their surroundings exert direct power over them and vice versa. I know I surely didn’t until fairly recently, despite spending a vast majority of my time with friends who are architects. 

As I dig deeper into the subject, pulling from relevant literature rather than drawing empirical evidence from my direct experience, I am inevitably pushed to ask myself the following questions: how does my footprint directly impact the next person? Can we fruitfully build a better shared existence if we don’t first start looking at the space we occupy as a crucial element in the construction of a better future? Are architects equally as important as scientists? While I don’t particularly feel the imminent need to answer these questions on the short term–nor do I think it will be possible for me to reach a definite verdict any time soon–one thing I will do more of is try to discover how many moments of my life are a direct reaction to how I made use of a particular space.

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Interesting stuff I read while trying to make sense of Space and Humanity:

🌲 Space and Place: Two Aspects of the Human-Landscape Relationship

🧸 Relationship between Humans And Objects

🛰 What Is the Role of Community Spaces and Services?

🏢 Psychology of Architecture: It’s Surprisingly Interesting Impact on Human Behavior

🏠 The Psychology of Architecture