Philosophy of Non-Space: Spatial Attachment
I think that whilst this perhaps doesn’t deal with a physical dynamic of space it is very important as an aid to understand space. People become very attached to specific places, whether it be because of a long standing relationship with the place, i.e. their home town, their house/work place etc, or a link to a good or bad memory, i.e. a holiday destination, hospital, crash site etc; emotional bonds are formed with locations which in its self could be considered ludicrous. Spatial attachment in my view does not necessarily have to be positive ether; I think it just has to be a case of a place/space provoking an emotional response.
Schroeder (1991) says of the subject that an attachment can only be formed with a place after a prolonged exposure to it over a space of time; total attachment can only come as a result of becoming accustomed to a place. He makes the definition between this and an immediate liking/attachment to a place saying that in most if not all cases this is only based on a fleeting emotion in response to the aesthetics or to an event in a specific place. He labels this distinction “Meaning versus Preference”; “meaning “being “the thoughts, feelings, memories and interpretations evoked by a landscape” and “preference” being “the degree of liking for one landscape compared to another”.
The length of time it would take for a “meaningful” attachment to grow has never really been specified however so it is a fairly ambiguous theory to a large extent. I would suggest that preference and meaning are inextricably linked in the sense that if a preference is formed for a place it speeds up the process of a meaningful attachment being made with it. It is also probable that personality traits and life experiences would play a part in the formation of attachment. Someone who has a very trusting nature may perhaps form an attachment quicker than someone who is naturally suspicious or anxious, and if someone is forcibly moved to a new area/place/space having formed a prior attachment to another place (for example someone going into witness protection or a child moving from primary to secondary education) would take longer to form an attachment to their new environment than someone who relocates through choice.
Agoraphobia is an interesting aside on this subject as an agoraphobic would find it very import that an attachment be formed to a “safe zone” ,probably their own home, and would find it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to form new attachments after this “safe zone” was specified.
