Many aspects of social/spatial relationships and our relationships with the material world are conditioned by anxieties. This book explores ordinary, everyday anxieties in western societies, in particular those relating to the construction of space and place. It examines ways in which spaces create anxieties and the ways in which anxieties contribute to the production and management of space. It focuses on 'normal' anxieties, such as the placing of furniture in the home, strangers in the neighbourhood, the spaces of public buildings, or the geographies of feral animals in the city. The book examines connections between the conscious and unconscious mind, and the personal, social, and material aspects of anxiety, taking a psychoanalytical, Kleinian approach. By way of illustration, the book includes chapters on spatial science, planning and iconic architects, in particular, Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe, both of whom had an aversion to wild nature.
Space Place and Anxiety