Examples Of Space Of Flows

‘Space of place’ and ‘space of flows’ denote two spatial logics that refer to the meaning and dynamic of places. ‘Space of flows’ is comparable to the logic of traditional civil society. This implies a local place with an identity where people live and work. People feel connected to the ‘space of place’ through the social practices and embedded social networks. That is also the reason why people want to move or stay in such places (due to the experiences). An example of the ‘space of place’ is Eindhoven. The identity of Eindhoven refers to technology, design and knowledge, which is recognized by international businesses and inhabitants, but also represented in the architecture and the history of Eindhoven. In addition, the identity of Eindhoven …show more content…
Most of the times the ‘space of flows’ dominates the ‘space of place’. This domination is produced by the desire for global markets, technological innovation and competitiveness which does not always correspond with the values of the local community and vernacular. This is further influenced by the networks in the space of flows that connects different places and assign to each place a specific function(s). As a consequence that the meaning, structure and culture of regions and cities become absorbed in the global network what changes the meaning and logic of a ‘space of place’. To come back to the quote ‘space of flows’ is the dominant spatial manifestation of power and function in our societies because it recreates meaning, function and power of the ‘space of place’ by constructing a specific geography for the powerful networks of ‘space of flows’. In this perspective, ‘space of flows’ defines the position of places, modifies the technological infrastructure to connect with the global networks and represents certain styles of architecture, nodes and hubs. The ‘space of places’ are kind of powerless in the power of these networks. Castells described that the informational elite is another fundamental dimension of the ‘space of flows’. He explained that the elite (powerful global networks) have their own symbols and lifestyles which do not link to any specific ‘space of place’. Due to the power of this elite and their organizational capacity, the local spaces are reconstructed in history, culture and architecture to fit the imaginary wonderlands of the elites. The spatial manifestation of the dominant elite are presented all over the world and this will lead to a homogenization of history, culture and architecture all over the world. This homogenization also involves social practices and spaces. Another aspect of the elite is that their headquarters, leisure-oriented spaces and