Representations of Space

Lefebvre's Theory of Space

For Lefebvre, a neo-Marxist, representations of space, along with spatial practice and representational space, formed the conceptual triad through which he analyzed the social production of space. Lefebvre's goal in using this triad was to introduce a unifying theory of space that he hoped would encompass physical space, mental or metaphoric space, and social space under one theory that could de-fetishize space, revealing the social relations and modes of production that are embedded within it. Lefebvre argued that historically specific spaces embody the modes of production and social relations that help them come into being and, at the same time, are necessary for those social relations to exist. However, space had become so fragmented by philosophy and other disciplines that these social relations had become incoherent in existing analyses. As both determinant of social relations and determined by them, space is presented as a crucial factor in understanding society. Whenever society changes in a revolutionary way, a corresponding new space must also be created. However, like a palimpsest, these new spaces do not erase older ones completely.

A second part of the triad includes spatial practice, sometimes referred to by both Lefebvre and others as perceived space, which is the daily spatial reality of a society, the domain of production and social reproduction. Representations of space, or conceived spaces, are associated with the codification of space and how social relations are inscribed on space. Representations of space fall under the control of “experts,” who map and define what is possible in any given space. Thus, representations of space reflect the dominant ideology of a given society.

Finally, representational spaces, or lived spaces, are associated with the imagination, with symbols, and with clandestine meanings. This is the space of art and dreams and is often made unrecognizable by representations of space. This is also the space from which challenges to hegemonic ideologies are launched, the space of possibility and contingency.

Lefebvre noted that all representations of space are, by necessity, reductions. It is impossible to represent or describe all things that occur within a particular space. For any given society or mode of production, it is the hegemonic discourse [Page 2432]within that society that dictates what aspects or objects are removed or reduced in a representation of space. Therefore, most representations of space work in favor of power. Furthermore, these representations are always presented as scientific and produced by experts, and they are presumed to be received uncritically. For this reason, Lefebvre argues that representations of space, taken alone, serve only to confuse and obfuscate analyses of space. Challenges to hegemonic social relations are not found in representations of space but rather are forced underground into the realm of representational spaces.

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