Place and Space: A Lefebvrian Reconciliation

This paper offers a dialectical interpretation of place. It argues that much of the confusion in the literature on place stems from its failure to engage with the ontological nature of place. This has led to much research implicitly accepting a restrictive Cartesian view of socio-spatial reality. Entrikin's (1991) 'betweenness of place' thesis is a notable recent illustration. In this paper I suggest that the problematic nature of place and its relationship to space can be resolved through a dialectical mode of argumentation. The spatialized dialectic of Henri Lefebvre offers a fruitful framework for reconciling the interaction between place and space insofar as it strives to overcome dualistic conceptions of capitalist spatiality. Lefevbre's dialectical approach will be counterposed to Entrikin's argument. The paper concludes by outlining the implications of the respective perspectives for robust place theorization and place politics.